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Tony Jones Jr. was the Unsung Hero for Notre Dame vs. Louisville

By Carlee North

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Tony Jones Jr. #6 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scores a touchdown against USC Trojans during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 24: Tony Jones Jr. #6 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish scores a touchdown against USC Trojans during the second half at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 24, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /
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The junior stepped up big for Notre Dame against Louisville on Monday.

Notre Dame went on the road and beat Louisville 35-17, but I don’t think anyone came away overly happy about the performance as a whole. Another writer and I here at Slap the Sign even predicted the score correctly, but we would both say we didn’t expect it to look the way it did in the process.

As for a player that really stepped up for the majority of the game, I have to go with running back Tony Jones Jr. To be honest, I would consider him more of a “hero” than an “unsung hero,” but my thoughts were pretty straight forward this week. If we didn’t have Jones’ performance, who knows what would of happened.

He was supposed to be part of a “one-two punch” with Jafar Armstrong but after the first drive, Armstrong went down with a possible groin injury and was out the rest of the game. And when Ian Book was off in the passing game for most of the night, Jones really stepped up and ran the ball very well.

Jones carried the ball 15 times for 110 yards and a touchdown. That’s an average of over 7 yards a carry. The offensive line should get some credit for this as well, but Jones really took a step forward from the previous season and physically looked better and more aggressive than we’ve seen.

His ability to pass protect is also a huge benefit to his game, and something that he did well on Monday. All together, he had a really solid game and it’s why he was this week’s “Unsung Hero.”

I think this pick was pretty cut and dry for me.

The only other player I thought about was tight end Tommy Tremble. The redshirt freshman made a few big plays in key situations in the pass game.

It was a sloppy and forgettable win, but still a win.

Next. Talent and Experience were the difference vs. Louisville. dark

As for the unsung hero, Tony Jones Jr. will now need to step up even more with the injury to Armstrong, and I expect him to take that challenge on as a veteran of this offense. It was a really physical performance by the junior running back, and I expect that to carry through the bye week and into New Mexico for Game 2.

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