Happy Labor Day and welcome to another Notre Dame football recap. Much like last week, the Irish cruised to another comfortable win, this time at home over the Tennessee State Tigers 56-3. Marcus Freeman and company could not have drawn up a better home opener, as his team treated the sellout crowd to an offensive clinic. With eight different players scoring touchdowns there is a lot to breakdown, so let’s dive in.
Marcus at the Mic
This will be a recurring feature in this recap, as we’ll breakdown the postgame thoughts of the Fighting Irish head coach. The biggest takeaway from this presser was the type of culture Freeman wants to have in South Bend. While he alluded to it last season, everything feels much more fleshed out this campaign. Discipline and focus are real focal points this season after losses last year to inferior opponents. “Don’t beat Notre Dame” certainly is coach speak but it’s the right attitude for a team that needed to clean up bad habits.
It was interesting to hear Freeman be self-reflective about how far he and the team have come from last year’s home opener, and how much they can achieve from here. The confidence that he now coaches with, and his team plays with, permeates throughout the game. While Freeman credits much of that to the arrival of Sam Hartman (rightfully so), he and his staff have pushed this roster to embrace their opportunity this year and they all look intent on doing so. As Freeman said they only get “12 guaranteed opportunities” and the program needs to “play to its full potential every week.”
As far as coaching points, it was interesting to note that Freeman went out of his way to ensure they could run the one-minute drill before the half as a “coaching moment.” He also noted the adjustments the team made early on after two consecutive disjointed series on defense and the work they still have to do on special teams. You can check out Freeman’s full presser at the link below.
Sam Heisman Update
The first came with the Irish up 11 with a little over nine minutes to go in the second quarter. Hartman took the Irish on a drive that opened up a three-score lead. Back-to-back throws to Jayden Thomas and then Chris Tyree for the score were highlights of the drive. The timing and accuracy of these throws is what stands out, as it was something that was lacking last year with Drew Pyne and Tyler Buchner under center.
While Hartman’s Heisman stock was over shadowed by terrific games from Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders at Colorado, Drew Allar for Penn State and Jordan Travis for Florida State, he still had another strong outing. Number 10 will get his chance to raise his profile starting with N.C. State this week on the road as a prelude to marquee matchups against Ohio State, USC and Clemson.
Work Horses
Marcus Freeman’s offense is blessed with an outstanding stable of running backs, as they bring four talented runners to the mix every week. Saturday’s contest got going with a bang, courtesy of a 36-yard touchdown run by Jeremiyah Love. Much like Audric Estime, Love moves extremely well for his size when he finds daylight.
Play of the Game
From this point forward we’ll be handing out play and player of the game honors in the recap. Since we already highlighted Sam Hartman’s summersault touchdown, the play of the game honors go to Ramon Henderson’s diving interception.
Player of the Game
After a performance like that there are a lot of guys who could take home player of the game honors, but I thought this weeks should go to a special pick. After patiently waiting for a chance to play over the last few seasons, New Jersey’s own Steve Angeli got in off the bench in relief of Hartman and ran the offense well. Angeli went 8/11 for 130 yards and two touchdowns, including this one to Gi’Bran Payne.
Overall, this was another well-rounded win for the Fighting Irish against an inferior opponent. Some early mistakes and the officials having no idea what targeting is aside, Notre Dame did the job in all three phases against TSU. Now they prepare for a trip to Raleigh, NC to take on an N.C. State Wolfpack team that won earlier this week against UCONN. The Pack also feature a transfer quarterback with former Virginia lefty Brennan Armstrong running the offense. While this trip will mark a step up in quality, the Irish should be able to take care of business next Saturday.
Let me know what you thought of the Irish win and your expectations for their upcoming game against N.C. State on twitter @YNWA9623. You can subscribe to site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner of your screen and entering your email address. Go Irish!
The Broadway Breakdown 
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