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Notre Dame Football: Kareem was Defensive Player of the Game

By Mason Plummer

SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
SOUTH BEND, IN - SEPTEMBER 01: Zach Gentry #83 and Khalid Kareem #53 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrate a 24-17 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Notre Dame Stadium on September 1, 2018 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Khalid Kareem dominated in the Notre Dame football win over Michigan.

9 tackles. 2 sacks. 2.5 tackles for loss. 1 forced fumble. It really doesn’t get much better than that if you are a Notre Dame football fan who loves outstanding individual defensive performances.

Khalid Kareem seemed like a man possessed this past Saturday against Michigan, and Irish fans couldn’t get enough. With the storyline coming into the week being how great Michigan’s defense was, Kareem grabbed all the headlines come Sunday morning. He played hard all game long, and forced the fumble late in the 4th quarter that sealed the win for his team.

Kareem earned big-time recognition for his performance against Michigan, as he was named the Walter Camp Defensive Player of the Week. It is a big time honor, one that only a handful of former Irish players can claim. However, with the way he played, it was well deserved.

The Michigan native had no problems sticking it to the Wolverines on Saturday night. However, he knows that in order for this Notre Dame team to be successful, it will need performances like this from him pretty regularly. Kareem knows what is expected of him, and took it in stride.

“That’s pretty solid. I feel that’s just something we should expect from our defense, especially our defensive line. We’re coming after it every day, just getting better, and going out there to do our job”, he said in an interview after the game.

https://twitter.com/FightingIrish/status/1036120369944571904

While few games on the schedule appear quite as daunting as Michigan, Kareem will have his hands full on the defensive line after the Irish lost Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa to a broken foot. Tagovailoa-Amosa provided quality depth on the D-Line, and looked to be in for a breakout season. Initial reports state that he is set to miss most of the season, with his best chance of returning being in late November.

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The injury to Tagovailoa-Amosa is not ideal, but the next 2-3 games won’t be against teams Notre Dame should struggle with. That should be enough time for Brian Kelly and Clark Lea to play around with some young pieces and find an adequate replacement.

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