Thoughts on Notre Dame’s big win over Texas A&M

There have been obvious issues with closing out games early on in Freeman’s tenure, and it looked like that would happen Saturday night, but the Irish closed it out in the final six minutes. This may not have happened in Freeman’s first two seasons under the helm, but with Coach Freeman’s experience handling these types of games, Year 3 looks to be a big year for Notre Dame.

The offense gained some yards down the field, but you can’t expect a brand new offense to thrive in Game 1 against a very stout defense. Denbrock made some great adjustments at halftime and scored two touchdowns in the second half. He used Riley Leonard’s legs more and opened up lanes for the running backs. There is certainly room for improvement in the passing portion of the offense, but there is plenty of time to fix it. This unit will get even better as the season progresses and will be a formidable opponent for the Irish.

There’s a debate about who has the best defense in the country, and Notre Dame is in that discussion. The unit allowed just 246 yards and one score. The Irish got the ball twice but could have gotten it more. All three levels played well. It’s hard to pinpoint which group was better than the other. The linebackers outside of Jack Kizer were questionable, but Jalen Snead and Drake Bowen answered the call. It was a monster performance from the Irish defense.

With three new starters on this line, there were big questions coming into the year. We struggled a little early on, but the whole team settled in as the games went on. This is a great sign for the future, as they don’t have to face teams with A&M’s talent and have a very good schedule to continue to grow. Purdue may be a tougher game than we originally thought, but I expected it to be one of the toughest games this fall for Notre Dame. The kids grew right before our eyes last night.

As the game went on, it was clear which team was better prepared physically to play a complete game: the Irish. A few Aggies players went down with cramps and injuries, but Notre Dame avoided those issues almost entirely. Jordan Faison went down, but the injury didn’t seem to be a big deal. A lot of credit should go to Director of Football Performance Lauren Landau, who prepared his team for the Texas heat, and it showed.

Notre Dame released its availability report before the game, stating that everyone in the two-deep was available. That wasn’t the case. Tight end Mitchell Evans was unavailable. It didn’t affect revenue, but it raises questions about how healthy he actually is. Recovery times for torn ACLs are hard to predict, and Evans doesn’t appear to be over that issue just yet.

Sure, Leonard’s passing wasn’t the best, but this tweet totally misses the point of the idea that Angeli should have been replaced. Sure, he could have played well, but Leonard won the team over with his leadership, so replacing him would have been unseemly. Angeli will play this year, and may really be needed later if something happens to Leonard, but this is a moving team.

I’m not the only one who thought this win punched the Irish into the College Football Playoff. Many experts around the country agree. Notre Dame has three big games on their schedule and will have to tie their final two games to qualify. The idea that the Irish are overrated is fading and perceptions will improve as the season progresses. It would be a shock if Notre Dame doesn’t make the playoff this fall.