Notre Dame Football: Irish Dismantle New Mexico in Georgia Tune-Up
By Matt Clark
Notre Dame football took to the field for their home opener on Saturday. The Irish took care of the Lobos and will turn their attention to Georgia.
The Irish may have started out slow, but as many predicted, the Irish would prove to be too talented for New Mexico to hang with. Notre Dame football fans have to feel much more confident going into a daunting matchup with SEC powerhouse, third-ranked Georgia next week in Athens, Georgia. The Irish looked solid in all three phases of football and did what elite football programs should do; dominate lesser opponents.
The start of the game could have served as a premonition to how it would conclude, as Irish return man Lawrence Keys III takes the opening kickoff to the New Mexico 49 yard line on a 59 yard kick. However, the Notre Dame offense came out sluggish and was forced to punt away despite the great start.
On New Mexico’s first possession, the Lobos drove down towards the red zone, but were picked off by freshman phenom Kyle Hamilton, who took the interception to the house. Notre Dame goes up 7-0 following the PAT.
On their third offensive possession, Notre Dame drove 49 yards on 10 plays. However, on this drive, the offensive line continued to struggle to get a push on short yardage downs and the Irish needed four plays to go three yards. Ultimately, they got enough of a push for Ian Book to punch it in, on a run for a touchdown on fourth and goal from the one. The Irish lead 14-0 after Doerer’s kick.
Notre Dame takes over on New Mexico’s next offensive possession as Jalen Elliot intercepts a pass by Jones. On the ensuing play, Avery Davis took a screen pass at the line of scrimmage 59 yards for the touchdown, showing the speed and athleticism that caused the Irish coaching staff to shift him back from cornerback to running back/wide receiver hybrid earlier in the week. The Irish take an early 21-0 lead on the Lobos.
On the next offensive drive by Notre Dame, Javon McKinley took a pass from Ian Book 65 yards for the score following a series of incredible moves to juke his opponents and strong broken tackles. The Irish go up 28-0.
On the following New Mexico possession, fifth year senior Shawn Crawford, continued his storybook comeback from two torn ACLs and a torn Achilles, intercepting the New Mexico quarterback’s pass, setting up the Irish offense with great field position.
Ian Book tossed a 37 yard touchdown bomb to Chase Claypool who was streaking wide open to the end zone. The Irish take a commanding 35-0 lead.
Bryson Carroll breaks off a 47yard run for a New Mexico touchdown to cap off the scoring drive for the Lobos with 29 seconds left in the half. The Lobos trail 35-7.
Notre Dame comes out aggressive on offense and 24 seconds remaining in the half. After a couple of Ian Book completions put the Irish in field goal range, Jonathan Doerer kept the kick just inside the uprights for three points, as time expires. The Irish take a lead at the half 38-7.
The Irish come out at the half and force an immediate three and out on defense. The ensuing offensive drive results in a 54 yard touchdown catch by captain Chris Finke, concluding a quick two play 60 yard drive. The Irish are dominating the Lobos 45-7.
After another three and out by the Irish defense, the offense responds with a touchdown on a 20 yard pass connection between Ian Book and Javon McKinley. However, the offensive line struggles again on short yardage downs to get enough of a push to pickup the first down. Regardless, the Irish are running away with the game 52-7 and Ian Book and some of the Irish starters are done for the day.
New Mexico finally put together a solid drive against the Irish defense, driving down to the Irish three yard line. However, on the field goal attempt on fourth down, the Lobos muffed the snap and the Irish recover on their own 42. Phil Jukovec replaces Ian Book and completes a pass for 52 yards on his first play from scrimmage, taking the offense down to the New Mexico 6 yard line. After a series of penalties, Jurkovec rushed down to the one yard line on third and 24. The Irish go for it on fourth down and C’Bo Flemister rushes it up the gut for the one yard touchdown. The Irish extend their lead to 59-7.
Another defensive stop led to the Notre Dame offense taking over. New Irish quarterback, Brendon Clark, replaces Phil Jurkovec and orchestrates an 88 yard scoring drive, hitting Braden Lenzy with the pass, which he takes 22 yards to the end zone. Notre Dame goes up 66-7 with 7:14 remaining.
New Mexico gets the ball back and running back, Bobby Cole, takes his first rushing attempt to the outside and scampers down the sideline for a 37 yard touchdown, culminating a two play 75 yard drive by the Lobos. Final score: Notre Dame 66, New Mexico 14.
The Irish finish off what is a dominant performance leading up to what is anticipated to be an epic showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs. Given today’s performance, coupled with some key Irish players getting healthy, the Irish have to be feeling more confident about their chances heading into the clash between two of the top 10 teams in the nation.
There were many standouts and bright spots in this game. The Irish were able to get many of their second string players in, getting important depth players valuable game experience. While there are certainly areas of opportunities for the Irish to improve upon, one has to like many of the things they saw from Notre Dame today.