The season opener for Notre Dame could not have gone any
better when the Fighting Irish defeated the Rice Owls 48-17 yesterday
afternoon. The biggest story entering this contest was the return of Everett
Golson, and the redshirt junior delivered in a big way. Golson and the Irish
started off a bit slow, but the offense was clicking on cylinders after they
settled in. Golson accounted for five total touchdowns on the afternoon by throwing
for two scores and adding three more on the ground. Golson was able avoid a few
sacks and extended several plays with his legs that resulted in either
touchdowns or big gains. Golson’s mobility was most noticeable in the red zone
where he was able to run the ball in the end zone when a couple of plays broke
down. Golson’s presence will likely do wonders to improve Notre Dame’s red
efficiency this season. In all, Golson completed 14 of his 22 passes for 295
yards and added another 41 yards on the ground. I think it is safe to say that
any doubts about Golson’s ability to lead this offense are no longer an issue.
While Golson was the star of the game, he was also aided by
his supporting cast. Yesterday was a prime example of just how deep the Irish
are at their offensive skill positions. Greg Bryant (71 yards), Tarean Folston
(71 yards), and Cam McDaniel (40 yards) split the ball carrying duties quite
well by combining for 182 yards on 28 carries. At 6.5 yards per carry, the
Notre Dame offense was able to do whatever they wanted against the Owls defense.
The most encouraging sign of Golson big day through the air was how he was able
to spread the ball around to several receivers. Seven Irish players caught a
pass on Saturday, with five players hauling in a reception of 25 yards or more.
Those type of big plays have been missing for the Irish in recent years, so
hopefully that will continue and happen consistently throughout the year.
Obviously, the Irish will face tougher defenses later this season, but this
offense should be able to move the ball and put up some points against just about
every team in the country. For the first team since Brian Kelly has arrived, he
finally has the quarterback situation and an abundance of skill players to run
his offense effectively. If Saturday is any indication of what the rest of the
season will look like, then 2014 season will be very exciting to watch offensively.
Although the offense had a field day, the defense showed
some weaknesses against the Owls offense. Prior to game, the Irish got some bad
news with starting safety Austin Collinsworth who injured his MCL on Thursday.
Collinsworth was unable to play Saturday and he is expected to miss two to four
more weeks. Hopefully, his absence will be shorter than four weeks because the
Irish secondary could use him. Rice was able to connect on two long touchdown
passes, with Elijah Shumate and Max Redfield looking lost on the first score
when Zach Wright ran directly through the middle of the Irish secondary. If
Notre Dame wants to beat Michigan next week, the secondary will have to
communicate better and sure up those mistakes. Outside of that, the Irish
defense played fairly well. They were able to create two turnovers and they
didn’t allow too much success on the ground. The most surprising aspect of the
defense was Joe Schmidt’s performance. The senior linebacker made eight tackles
on the day, and showed a lot of skill for a former walk-on. I was not expecting
Schmidt to be a huge contributor this season, so hopefully there will be more
games like yesterday.
Last, but certainly not least, it appears that the Irish
might finally have a punt return game! Florida transfer Cody Riggs had two
returns of 24 and 25 yards, while Greg Bryant added 31 yards on his three
returns. Those 80 yards helped give the offense excellent field position and
provided a spark in an area that has lacked excitement for several season now.
Let’s see if that type of production is sustainable throughout the season.
-Eric Tichelbaut
Twitter: @etichel07
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