What a great way to start a brand new football season. Certainly this is a much better feeling than after last year's season opener when we were wondering what went wrong. This year, it's almost nothing but praise for this young team that traveled thousands of miles to Ireland to beat down Navy 50-10. Hopefully this game will be an omen for the rest of the season.
POSITIVES
Many to choose from, but the biggest positive has to be the play of Notre Dame's lines--both offensive and defensive. The offensive line physically dominated Navy's smaller and slower defensive line and the Irish defensive line had no troubles with the Middies offensive linemen. It was really nice to see ND physically dominate a game in which they should. Notre Dame is going to have to continue to win the line of scrimmage this season. If they can do that, they'll win a lot of games.
Going hand in hand with the offensive line domination, Notre Dame's running game came to play. Theo Riddick and George Atkinson III both proved they can play tailback at a high level and even Cam McDaniel showed some nice running in the fourth quarter. Riddick led the Irish with 107 yards on 19 carries and Atkinson provided a spark with nine more carries for 99 yards including an electrifying 56 yard touchdown run. Once Cierre Wood comes back, ND will have three or four outstanding options to choose from.
I loved that the Irish won the turnover battle. Especially considering how we felt after the South Florida opener last year, seeing Notre Dame +3 in turnovers was a pleasant sight. Manti Te'o earned his first ever fumble recovery and interception, Stephon Tuitt picked up another fumble and returned it for a score giving Navy the deathblow. You didn't like to see Golson's pick in the redzone, but it was a mistake made by a young quarterback so you can forgive it. But being that was the only miscue, you'll take it.
NEGATIVES
Only two real negatives coming out of the game. The first was the shaky play of the Irish corners. We knew there might be some growing pains, but as Gary Danielson pointed out in the broadcast, the Navy receivers are going to be the worst they face all season. Now, in fairness, this offense is hard to gauge because the safeties help on the run. But seeing KeiVarae Russell get beat twice on deep balls does not bode well for the future. Bennett Jackson also allowed too much cushion at times. They must get their technique down because if Navy's receivers can do that well, I shudder to think what Michigan's, Oklahoma's, BYU's and USC's can do.
The other negative is the two missed extra points. Nick Tausch just missing the first one is inexcusable as was Ben Turk allowing the snap to go right through his hands. Missing an extra point should never happen. It's like a layup. And having the snap go through your hands? Never should happen again. At least they didn't matter this week, but how about the future? How many times does a missed extra point come back to haunt a team?
FINAL THOUGHTS
Other than the questions at corner and the missed extra points, there's really nothing else to complain about. Everett Golson passed his first test as a starter. The rushing attack was spectacular and the defense shut down Navy's offense. You could not ask for a better opener. Unfortunately, you really can't tell too much about this team from Saturday's game. We'll get a much better feel against Purdue this Saturday. But for one day, Notre Dame dominated. 1-0 feels pretty good.
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