Notre Dame Football: 3 Things Learned From Deacons-Irish

The Notre Dame football team easily picked up their 8th win when they defeated Wake Forest on Saturday, 48-37. However, fans, coaches and players were unsatisfied with the victory. For the first time, the Irish defense allowed more than 20 points. Here are the three things learned from Notre Dame’s victory over Wake Forest.

Notre Dame Does Not NEED Josh Adams

Adams only carried the ball 5 times for 22 yards on Saturday. With no need to play him, Adams sat for the rest of the game.

Without Adams, the Irish offense totaled 710 yards against the Demon Deacons. Junior Quarterback Brandon Wimbush and Sophomore Quarterback Ian Book threw for 330 yards through the air.

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On the ground, the Notre Dame Running Backs and Quarterbacks rushed for 380 yards.

Against a solid Wake Forest defense, the Irish demonstrated that their success is not contingent on the legs of Josh Adams. Is he one of the best players on the team? Yes, of course. However, he is not the only great player the Irish have on the roster.

The Irish Defense is Not a Finished Product

The biggest frustration for the fans was the poor performance of the defense. Notre Dame yielded 587 yards to the Demon Deacons. What is even worse, the Irish surrendered 37 points to a relatively mediocre football team.

A lot of the issues were caused by soft coverage and missed tackles. The Demon Deacons outscored the Irish 27-17.

Wimbush Continues to Improve

Brandon Wimbush continued to take a step forward in the passing game against the Demon Deacons. Wimbush completed 50% of his passes for 280 yards. Although he only completed 50% of his throws, many of those passes were dropped by the Notre Dame Wide Receivers.

Who was the biggest recipient of Wimbush’s improved throwing? Chase Claypool. The Sophomore from British Columbia caught 9 passes for 180 yards and 1 touchdown.

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