How the Battle-Tested Irish are Built for the Long Run

2 hours ago

3 min read

Via Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

As the No. 3 Notre Dame Fighting Irish were in a one-point game late into the third quarter last Saturday, many fans sat in both confusion and frustration.

In a game that Notre Dame seemingly dominated, the score proved otherwise, and until freshman RB Jonaz Walton powered the Irish through a 17-play touchdown drive capped off on a CJ Carr scramble, box score watchers could doubt the Irish's national championship legitimacy.

It's easy to compare Notre Dame to other elite teams in the country - it's human nature. You look at Miami's overpowering offense or the athleticism of Kirby Smart's defense in Athens. Others can buy the hype of Keelon Russell as if this is the year Kalen DeBoer has returned Alabama to their greatness under Nick Saban.

However, as the week's go on, these teams lessen. Remember the LSU hype after Week One? Or people questioning how Ole Miss's offense could ever be stopped. Even Florida skyrocketed into the Top 10 and was drawing comparisons to 2019 LSU by a "national college football analyst" and a week later they lost by 28 points.

With all of those examples, it's clear that it's easy to get mixed up into these national agendas being pushed out by major media entities that are incapable of releasing non-clickbait titles regarding the Irish.

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Did they struggle against North Carolina? If you watched the game, you would say no. If you only look at the final score though, people can easily say that Notre Dame escaped with an 11-point victory in Chapel Hill.

Well, yes, Notre Dame did win by only 11 points. Their fifteenth-straight win by double digits, all against FBS opponents, in fact. They also out-gained the Tar Heels by 190 yards. They held UNC to only 77 rushing yards, while running for 241 yards on a defense that averaged 123 rushing yards per game this season.

While Notre Dame had blemishes, the 97-yard touchdown drive for Carolina before halftime and the kickoff return coming out of the break, the Irish played a complete game against a good coaching staff who had two weeks to prepare for this matchup.

With a schedule that also gets heavy scrutiny from media-backed talking heads, it is tough to find points on Notre Dame's slate (outside of BYU, Miami, and SMU) where the Irish will be pushed.

That is the whole criticism of not having a "difficult schedule," right? It only took a pair of fluke-like occurrences (the last time Notre Dame gave up a kickoff return TD was eight years ago), along with torrential downpour to put the Irish in that sort of situation with their backs against the wall.

Notre Dame responded by outscoring UNC 16-6 after the kickoff return, proving they are more than one-dimensional offensively and found a budding star in the running back room.

That is the main takeaway from this game in Chapel Hill. Forget the struggle of the defensive backs, specifically Adon Shuler in coverage. Remember the best rushing attack to date, along with the best performance by the offensive line.

Look at CJ Carr's statline: 21/29 with five total touchdowns and no turnovers. He's elite and the key to unlocking something that hasn't been done in 38 years.

The wide receivers will continue to develop, but the coaching staff can trust at least three different weapons, in Jordan Faison, Jaden Greathouse, and Micah Gilbert, who have shown they can be impact players for this year's team.

So if you are uneasy about the future of this team: just take a beat. The Irish are still rounding into form and are preparing for their first real test of a season that could be cemented in Notre Dame history.

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