Notre Dame Football: 5 Things We Learned From Irish – Bulldogs
By Andrew Hall
The Notre Dame football program failed in a big spot, again.
Irish lost to Georgia, 20-19, in an Athens-like Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame battled the Bulldogs for 60 minutes but failed to make the big plays. Here are five things we learned from tonight’s game:
Notre Dame Defense Definitely Better
The Notre Dame defense definitely proved that they belonged among the nation’s best. For four quarters, the Irish went head-to-head with two of the best Running Backs in the country. The Irish held the Bulldogs to 20 points.
The Georgia rushing attack still gained 185 yards but only averaged 4.3 yards per carry. In 2016, as a comparison, the Bulldogs average 4.66 yards on the season.
Overall, the defense only yielded 322 yards and 20 points to Georgia. In addition to the holding the Bulldogs to only 322 yards, the Irish forced 2 turnovers (1 interception and 1 fumble)
Running Game, Eh…
After rushing for 422 yards, the Notre Dame rushing attack failed to continue their ground domination. Notre Dame only gained 55 yards on 37 attempts. The Irish average, 1.5 yards per carry, completed halted the Notre Dame offensive attack.
Wimbush Battles, Struggles
Junior Quarterback Brandon Wimbush did his best. He constantly faced pressure from the Bulldog front. The Georgia defense sacked Wimbush 3 times and hurried him another 7 occasions. At the end of the night, Wimbush threw for 210 yards and rushed for a net total of 1 yard. He scored Notre Dame’s lone touchdown.
Special Teams: Special in Spots
The Special Teams helped Notre Dame flip the field on Georgia several time. Senior Punter Tyler Newsome garnered a 47.1 yard net punting. To give that total some perspective, the total would have ranked 15th in the country.
In addition to Newsome’s punting, the coverage was exceptional. Dexter Williams and Julian Love raced down the sidelines all night and were prepared to bring down the runner. Many times, they forced a “fair catch.”
Irish Can Get Pressure
If the Irish get to 3rd down, Notre Dame’s defense gets a lot of pressure on the Quarterback. A combination of the Defensive Line and Linebackers closes in on the Quarterback quickly.
Tonight, the Irish defense sacked Fromm twice and hurried the Quarterback 5 times. Notre Dame’s pressure clearly affected the Freshman Quarterback Jake Fromm who completed 16 of 29 passes for 141 yards.