Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?
Watching the (then) 20th-ranked Irish invade Spartan Stadium and take care of business against the (then) 10th-ranked Michigan State Spartans harkened back to a different era of Notre Dame football, a time when wins like this were expected, a time when Notre Dame exerted its will and took care of business. Sure, there were losses, but there were mostly wins, and there was swagger. And last night, the Irish brought that back. And somewhere, Rick Reilly and Colin Cowherd wept into their pillows.
All of the questions and teeth-gnashing of last week were swept aside by the restorative powers of a rampant defense and a competent offense. Everett Golson shook off early miscues to show flashes of brilliance and launch a glorious TD pass to John Goodman that should go down as one of the best catches in Notre Dame history. Prince Shembo absolutely blew up Michigan State’s O-line and harried Sparty’s quarterback, Andrew Maxwell, all night. And Manti Te’o turned in a performance that was as poignant as it was powerful.
Coach Diaco and the Irish defense chose a decidedly anti-RunDMC tack against State as there was very little “Tricky” about the defensive scheme. Instead, they relied on their advantages in strength and speed to get around the blockers and force hurried reads by the Spartan Quarterback. “When a front seven can cause a lot of problems without a lot of blitzes, it causes a lot of problems,” said Maxwell after the game. While some of State’s problems on the O-line can be attributed to the loss of senior captain Fou Fonoti to injury, Notre Dame’s speed and ability to blow the Michigan State line back into the play was apparent. And on the other side of the ball, the ND O-line played a much more solid game against Sparty than they did against Purdue.
Golson lead ND’s offense very well under the intense glare and vitriol of Spartan Stadium. His passing stats weren’t remarkable, but he spread the ball to five receivers and stretched the field on several occasions. And the running game, held in check by Michigan State most of the game, extended drives and ultimately consumed the clock in the Fourth Quarter to stiffle any chance of a State comeback. Gone, too, were any special teams issues, save perhaps GAIII’s awkward self-tackle on the opening kickoff, as Turk and Brindza handled their duties perfectly throughout the game.
Against all that, Manti Te’o turned in a sublime, twelve tackle performance that at once made you forget about the profound personal losses he experienced while at the same time placing them squarely before you with every gesture to Heaven. He was everywhere on Saturday night, dropping backs behind the line and then sealing the game by snatching the ball from the air as Le’Veon Bell attempted to fumble or pitch it to a teammate as he fell out of bounds. In this battle of hyped-D’s, Notre Dame’s was clearly the better squad, limiting Sparty to a single, fifty yard fieldgoal.
Last week, I wrote about perspective in the wake of an angst-inducing performance, but a win nevertheless, against Purdue. Against Purdue, the Irish won ugly. Against Michigan State, the Irish won powerfully though perhaps not prettily. Last Sunday, the Irish were 2-0 for the first time since 2008. This Sunday, the Irish are 3-0 for the first time since 2005. In the latest AP Poll, Notre Dame is just outside the Top Ten, sitting proudly at eleven. There are plenty of hours between now and Michigan next Saturday for us to worry, anew, about the problems we have (such as losing Jamoris Slaughter to some sort ankle injury). I would suggest that today is a day for celebrating what we have and how far we’ve come, for there was nothing flukey about last night’s win, nothing that should be used to detract from the accomplishment, such as winning on a fake fieldgoal. No, last night was our night and Manti’s night and we are better for the experience.
- Finding Flaws in a Diamond: Clemson’s Rushing Offense - December 17, 2018
- Why Nobody Will Cotton to Notre Dame - December 3, 2018
- Irish Finish Regular Season Perfect 12-0 - November 26, 2018