Written by Phil Kowalis｜Writer｜X/Twitter: @PhilKowalisIT Photo by The Irish Tribune When Sam Hartman made his announcement that he was transferring to the University of Notre Dame for his final season of eligibility, fans across Irish nation thought the Irish had acquired the piece needed to reach the promised land and finally end the 35-year drought since Notre Dame's last national title in 1988. Irish fans envisioned Hartman leading a high-powered Irish offense that would rack up video game-type offensive numbers, and paired with a defense that was loaded with returning talent, would leave opponents in their wake on the way to an unbeaten season and College Football Playoff appearance. Ten games into this once so promising season, Notre Dame enters their final bye week on the schedule with a disappointing 7-3 record. Not only have the dreams of ending the national title drought been dashed, but any hopes for a consolation trip to a New Years 6 Bowl have also ended up on the scrap heap after the Irish suffered a puzzling 31-23 loss to the Clemson Tigers. As Notre Dame uses the bye week to lick their wounds and prepare for the final two games of what has turned into a disappointing season, I thought this would be a good time to give some thoughts on what has turned into a season lost. Sam Hartman is the system quarterback that he had hoped to prove he wasn't. In transferring to Notre Dame, Hartman hoped to prove that he was not just another quarterback who owed his success to gimmicky offensive system he played in. Hartman hoped that spending a season in Notre Dame's more pro-style offense would prove to NFL GM's that he was not a product of the slow mesh offensive system utilized by Wake Forest where Hartman had thrown for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns in his previous five seasons. Despite getting off to a hot start to his Notre Dame career, Hartman has looked more uncomfortable in the Notre Dame offensive system as the season has progressed and has struggled to match the success he had as a Deamon Deacon. With two games remaining in the season, Hartman has thrown for only 2,272 yards and 18 touchdowns on the season, falling well short of his totals of 3,701 yards and 38 touchdowns in his final season at Wake Forest. Hartman hoped to improve his NFL draft stock by transferring to Notre Dame, but it may very well turn out that his draft stock has been hurt by the move instead. Concern about the interior of the offensive line has become all too real. Coming into the season, Notre Dame's offensive line was touted as being the strength of the offense and was seen as being a contender to win the Joe Moore award as the best offensive line in the country. The Irish line was anchored by NFL prospects at both tackle positions in Blake Fisher and Joe Alt, but the ultimate success of the unit would depend on the development of the unproven interior of the line in particular the play of the Irish guards, Pat Coogan and Rocco Spindler. Coogan and Spindler played well over the first four weeks of the season and held their own in the matchup against Ohio State, but the interior of the line was exposed in the loss to the Louisville Cardinals and the line has struggled to recapture their early season success which has greatly limited the success of the Irish offense. Tobias Merriweather has failed to live up to the preseason hype of his WR1 potential. All the news coming out of Notre Dame's preseason fall camp was that wide receiver Tobias Merriweather was primed to have a breakout season and be a clear cut WR1 for the Irish this season. Merriweather has failed to live up to those preseason accolades, as the sophomore wide receiver has struggled from the start of the season and has only 11 catches for 224 yards and one touchdown on the season. There has been speculation of Merriweather entering the transfer portal at the end of the season, but if that proves to be untrue the 2024 season is shaping up to be a make or break one for Merriweather's career in South Bend. Irish offense has never found their true identity in the 2023 season. Despite head coach Marcus Freeman repeatedly saying that Notre Dame would be a run first team, the Irish have struggled to live up to Freeman's claim this season. The Irish have a stable of talented running backs and would seem to be more than capable of living up to the run first approach, but at times this season the Irish have abandoned the running game completely. An example of this is the loss to Clemson, when Audric Estime only had three carries in the second half despite the Irish only trailing by one score for most of the half. The struggles of the offensive line and the fact that opposing defenses game plan to take the running game away are contributing factors to the Irish offense struggling to find its identity, but at times it appears that the Irish forget that the running game is what the offense should be built around. Offensive coordinator Gerad Parker is public enemy number one, but does he deserve all the criticism he is receiving? Notre Dame offensive coordinator Gerad Parker is on the hot seat as the Notre Dame offense has continued to struggle over the past five weeks, but does Parker deserve to have all the blame placed on him? In my opinion, he doesn't. Parker's play calling has not been great, and it appears that he has forgotten that a play action pass is a great call against an opposing defense that has loaded the box in an attempt to stop the run. Or that it wouldn't hurt to throw on first down to at least make the defense respect the idea of the pass, or maybe running a toss sweep or a simple off tackle run instead of just continuing to ram the ball between the guards into the heart of the defense would help take some of the anger of Irish nation off of him. Fans need to realize that Parker is also calling the plays when the offense has performed well. The difference between the offense performing well and struggling to some extent comes down to the execution of the players on the field, neither Parker nor anyone else on the Irish staff is spending countless hours breaking down game tape and developing game plans that they know will fail, so it's okay to place 70 to 80 percent of the blame on Parker, he is not deserving of all the blame for the struggle of the Irish offense. Should a three-loss season really be seen as a failure for the 2023 Irish? In my opinion, no. Many Irish fans will disagree with my opinion, as they saw the addition of Hartman as the final piece to the championship puzzle, but in reality, filling the hole at the quarterback position was only fixing one of many different areas of need. While the Irish defense may be championship caliber, the Irish offense still needs improvement along the offensive line, and the wide receiver room still needs added talent and another year of growth. A 10-win season is still a possibility and would be a good step forward in year two of the Freeman era. Those are some of my thoughts on the Irish season to this point feel free to comment on my thoughts or add thoughts of your own in the comment section below, until next time Go Irish.

By Liam Farrell｜Senior Staff Writer｜Twitter/X: @LiamFarrell_IT Via The Irish Tribune SOUTH BEND, Ind.- For the second year in a row, Notre Dame will end the regular season without a double digit win total. During the Brian Kelly era, Irish fans across the globe have had the mindset of a playoff or bust year. The first two years of the Marcus Freeman era have had great highs and treacherous lows, that hadn't been seen in the last years of Kelly's rule at Notre Dame. The facet about Freeman that everyone loves is his personality, which leads to his team loving him and great recruiting success. However, these off-the-field victories haven't transitioned into success between the white lines. This made me question: If one former Notre Dame player could be put onto the 2023 roster, who would make the biggest impact? Let's break down some answer choices below. Big Play Receiving Threat Michael Floyd. Michael Floyd was one of the biggest recruits that Notre Dame has landed in the 21st century. A five star product from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Floyd blossomed early on in his career with the Irish. The 6'3" big bodied wide receiver led the team in yards in both his sophomore and junior seasons before declaring for the NFL draft. In those two years alone, Floyd tallied 21 touchdowns, along with 2,172 yards. If Floyd was on this year's Irish team, Sam Hartman could finally throw those 50/50 balls he was so accustomed to at Wake Forest. Will Fuller. Talk about a speed demon. Fuller was basically the sole reason the 2015 Irish scored points in their games. 3rd and long? Just throw it to Fuller on a post of a go route and it would work 75% of the time. Even while nursing an injury in the bowl game versus Ohio State, Fuller still had more speed than the healthy cornerbacks that were attempting to guard him. In that 2015 season, Fuller racked up 1,258 yards and 14 touchdowns, in which he led the Notre Dame offense to a 10-2 regular season record. If Fuller was on this year's team, the field would open up so much more for Hartman and he would finally have a receiver that could create separation. Honorable Mentions: Golden Tate and Jeff S amardzija. Both Tate and Samardzija would be great options on this Notre Dame team, but I'm unsure how much they would elevate the Irish's passing threat. Chris Tyree actually reminds me a lot of Golden Tate, but Tate had much more of a knack of making the big play. Samardzija also had this clutch factor about him as well, but his speed would definitely be an issue in the current age of college football. Defensive Anchor Manti Te'o. Simply put, Te'o was a different type of competitor at Notre Dame. Every game, Te'o played with such a passion and desire that ignited the 2012 Notre Dame defense to become legendary. While it's unfortunate that the scandal shines brighter in most people's memories outside of Notre Dame fans, Te'o's on-field success in 2012 was frankly unreal. Te'o's 7 interceptions as a linebacker is the craziest stat, including 111 tackles. Te'o would instantly fix the tackling woes this Notre Dame linebacker unit is currently facing. Justin Tuck. Tuck would make this entire Notre Dame defense significantly better. While Javonte Jean-Baptiste has shown glimpses of glory this season, Notre Dame hasn't really been able to pressure the quarterback from a 4 lineman rush. Tuck would single handily fix this problem, which would cause the incredibly talented Notre Dame secondary to pickup even more interceptions. Tuck's 13.5 sacks in the 2003 season are still the Notre Dame record for most sacks in a single season. With this much pressure on opposing QB's, Tuck would be a difference maker. Honorable Mentions: Stephon Tuitt and Jaylon Smith. Both of these players would make an extreme impact on this Notre Dame team. I labeled them both behind the players at their respective position, strictly from a stats based perspective. Jaylon Smith had much greater raw natural skills than Te'o; however, that 2012 season will never be replicated from a linebacker in college football. As it comes to Tuitt, his pass rushing ability would allow this already talented Notre Dame secondary to prosper even more. What Do You Think? Let Me Know in the Comments Below!

By Liam Farrell｜Senior Staff Writer｜Twitter/X: @LiamFarrell_IT Via The Irish Tribune SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Coming up on a disappointing loss to Clemson, the Irish have the entire BYE week to analyze what changes must occur within the program. While there might be massive movement from the coaching side of things on the offensive side of the ball, the same cannot be said about the defensive coaches. Notre Dame defensive coordinator, Al Golden, has been an extremely great hire since being brought on to oversee the Irish defense in 2022. Golden, who has ample college head coaching experience, along with NFL position group experience, has led an Irish defense that is at the top of most defensive categories in the nation. With that being said, Golden will be a popular commodity around the NFL for defensive coordinator positions; however, the Irish cannot afford for the 54 year old coordinator to depart from South Bend. Let's take a look at the possible outlook for this Notre Dame defense. Head Coaching Experience and A Possible Replacement Al Golden loves the University of Notre Dame. Before Brian Kelly got hired to be Notre Dame's head coach, Golden was one of the final candidates that Jack Swarbrick and the panel were considering. Obviously, the job went to Kelly, so Golden had a good tenure at the University of Miami before transitioning into being a linebackers coach in the NFL. Golden left the Cincinnati Bengals organization, who had just made it to the Super Bowl, to come back and be the DC at one of his favorite universities, Notre Dame. Golden provided experience to new head coach, Marcus Freeman, who had never been a head coach before in his professional career. Golden aided Freeman and provided much needed expertise during the beginning months of Freeman's new position. While helping out the newly minted head coach, Golden has also done a phenomenal job orchestrating a top rated defense in his past two years. This was on full display when Golden stopped the USC offense from doing anything a couple weeks ago, along with holding #1 Ohio State to only 17 points. Golden's achievements have not gone unnoticed, and he has been rumored to look at potential NFL jobs. These rumblings have also been felt by Marcus Freeman, who has hinted at Golden's potential departure. During his weekly presser, Freeman discussed cornerback's coach Mike Mickens, and how he could be a defensive coordinator very soon. Mickens, who has totally changed the outlook on the Notre Dame secondary, is very comparable to Ohio State OC, Brian Hartline. Both are elite recruiters, who can also develop their players into first round talent, as Hartline has done with numerous Buckeye WR, and Mickens has done with Sauce Gardner. Why the Irish Must Keep Golden While Mickens might leave if not promoted, Golden is too valuable to this Notre Dame football team. The Irish elevated from within on the offensive side of the ball and fans have seen how successful that experiment as been. While Notre Dame elevated Clark Lea after Mike Elko went to Texas A&M, I believe the promotion of Mickens would not lead to nearly the same success. Golden has produced great schemes against the nation's best teams and have limited them to low amounts of points. Even in the Clemson game this past weekend, the defense got 5 straight stops on Clemson's last possessions and forced a turnover when the game looked to be over. Golden has put Notre Dame in spots to succeed in every game he's coached. While Sam Hartman jokes that he has to buy Golden a Ferrari, Notre Dame must spend the big bucks to keep Golden around in 2024. Wrap Up Notre Dame must keep Al Golden for the 2024 season. In a season that starts out on the road against Texas A&M, stability and experience are two of the most important factors. Knowing this, the Irish need to keep their defensive coordinator on their sideline. What do you think Notre Dame should do? If Golden walks, do the Irish promote from within? Or do they go out of their way to find an established DC? Let me know below!

Written by Cade Harper｜Writer｜Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT Notre Dame falls on the road yet again against an ACC opponent for the second time this season, recently moving them to #22 in the most recent AP poll. Hartman struggles continue, coaching questions arise, something needs to change. The defense looked spectacular in places but the offense simply could never capitalize on the opportunities given to them. What do the numbers tell us about Saturday's disappointing loss? Offense - Bad, Defense - Still good, pretty much to dumb it down. The numbers are quite frightening, fair warning. Photo by Clemson Athletics So do we want bad news or good news first? I say let's get rid of the bad news first so we can go into the bye week on somewhat of a positive. So the bad part of Saturday was obviously the offense I think we can all agree, Hartman having a yet another bad game, Parker's very questionable play calling and so called "execution". And apparently, the defense not being able to even slow down Clemson's back up running back, Phil Mafah, who absolutely torched the Irish for 186 yards and 2 Touchdowns on, checks notes, 36 carries? Sure sounds like someone knows how to use their best player on the field. Speaking of best player, Audric Estime had a total of 17 carries on Saturday, 3 of them came in the second half. Three. On top of that, attempting to fool Clemson's defense didn't come so easy, but that's also because Parker didn't even attempt to fool anyone, except the fans when he called for Hartman to throw multiple 3rd down screen plays. Notre Dame called a grand whopping total of 2 play action passes the entire game, that's accounting for 6% of total drop backs from Hartman, just after 40% of the drop backs a week ago in Notre Dame's 58 point win over Pitt. To make this sound even crazier, despite being 0-5 vs Clemson in his career, Hartman threw 6 touchdowns for 337 yards with a play action on 54% of his drop backs when he was in a Wake Forest uniform. Now this is what's interesting, Notre Dame's offense averages 6.81 yards per play, ranked 13th nationally in that category, and then 2nd in all time school history. Notre Dame also averages 36.8 points per game, which is ranked 15th across the nation and is currently tied for 6th in school history. Now against power 5 opponents? The Irish rank 21st in scoring and 23rd in yards per play. You can take this information for what you will. For more on Hartman having yet another bad game, he is now 31/55 (56% completion rating), 0 Touchdowns, 4 Interceptions in his last two games, a very rough back to back outings for a guy with incredible experience. Matter of fact, the same guy who threw for a touchdown pass in his last 31 games while at Wake Forest, is yet to throw for a single touchdown pass in three of the past five games. As far as the defense goes, there was a lot of good and very little bad. An extremely strong second half allowing just seven points wasn't enough and gave the offense multiple chances to go and tie this ball game. On the last 6 drives, Notre Dame managed to gain a grand total of 44 yards along with an interception and a turnover on downs, Estime had 2 carries on those last 6 drives and only one more of those would come in the second half. The defense stopped Klubnik and the Tiger offense several times, yet the Irish offense simply could never capitalize. Notre Dame outgained Clemson by 44 yards, 329 to 285, more in both passing and rushing, yet it felt like the offense could never move the ball downfield. Safe to say the turnovers killed this team on Saturday as it resulted in 10 points for the Tigers, Notre Dame finished with 3 total. Before we get to the good-ish news, we need to discuss the Irish rushing defense. Phil Mafah, a guy who was supposedly given the start for Saturday's game approximately 4 hours or more based off what media reports have said, had a career day. By career day I quite literally mean career day. The guy had 36 total carries, career high, 186 yards, career high, and 2 Touchdowns, tying his career high. At multiple points throughout the game, he was averaging 10+ yards a carry, which isn't human-like to most people. The Irish now rank 40th in the nation in the rushing defense category, and 7th in the nation for total defense after being within the top 4 just last week, Clemson is now also ahead of Notre Dame at 6th. Onto somewhat of the good news, Notre Dame has a bye week next week. Just kidding. The Notre Dame pass defense continues to absolutely dominate. They allowed just 109 passing yards, and forced yet again, another turnover. Who was credited the turnover you ask? The nation's leader in interceptions, with seven, Senior Safety who started his Notre Dame career as a Wide Receiver, Xavier Watts. This performance ranks the Irish 2nd in passing yards allowed, 3rd in total interceptions, tied for 2nd in total turnovers, 3rd in pass efficiency defense, and 7th in total defense. Very impressive stuff from Al Golden despite allowing the big game from Phil Mafah. Another nice fact to know is that Estime played a phenomenal 1st half of football, saying first half only because I want everyone to know how frustrating it is that the best running back in the country only received 3 carries in the second half in what was a one score game for most of the football game. 17 carries, 87 yards, and another score. Audric's touchdown count is now up to a total of 13, Blake Corum from Michigan leads with 16. I just want to make it very known, in Notre Dame's 3 losses, Audric Estime doesn't have 20+ carries. To jump towards the passing offense, it was very evident Hartman missed his favorite target in Mitchell Evans who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Rico Flores led receivers with 35 yards despite having just one catch. Estime and Tyree tied for the team high 4 catches in Saturday's game. Final notes : It will be very interesting how Notre Dame football, much less athletics as a whole, will be with AD Jack Swarbrick stepping down next to Father Jenkins next year. Maybe some coaching changes, maybe everything stays the same, who knows? Now headed into the Irish second bye week on a loss, there's a lot to improve on before they return home for Senior Day in Notre Dame Stadium when they will host Hartman's former team, 4-5 Wake Forest.

Written by Phil Kowalis｜Writer｜X/Twitter: @PhilKowalisIT Photo By The Irish Tribune That thud you heard Saturday afternoon was the door being slammed shut on Notre Dame's NY6 bowl chances after the Irish suffered their second inexplicable loss of the season 31-23 to a Clemson Tiger team that entered the game begging to be put out of their misery in what had been a forgettable season for the Tigers. Instead, despite missing key starters on both sides of the ball, the Tigers thoroughly outplayed the Irish in all three phases of the game to send the Irish to their third loss of the season. The Irish offense moved the ball efficiently in the first half, but could not find the endzone on three trips deep into Clemson territory. Clemson took advantage of two Irish turnovers to build a commanding 24-9 lead at the half. The Notre Dame defense held the Tigers to a lone touchdown in the second half and repeatedly gave the Irish offense a chance to claim a come from behind victory, but the Notre Dame offense could only muster 60 yards of total offense on their final six possessions of the game. Notre Dame drops to 7-3 on the season and leaves the Irish with two meaningless games remaining in the season after the team's final bye week of the season. Let's take a look at the grades for the Irish in the loss to Clemson. Offense: Offensive Line/Tight Ends: Grade C - The Notre Dame offensive line played a solid overall game against the Tigers as the Irish offensive front paved the way for 183 yards on the ground on 31 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per attempt but once again struggled in crucial short yardage situations as the Irish were not able to punch the ball into the endzone after having first and goal from the three-yard line late in the first half. The Irish tight ends were nonexistent in the passing game as Holden Staes had the only catch for the Notre Dame tight ends. Quarterback/Running Backs: Grade: D My mother always said if you can't say anything nice say nothing at all, so all I will say about the play of Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman is thanks for the effort you have given this season. Hartman struggled mightily against the Tigers defense finishing the day completing only 13 of his 30 pass attempts for 146 yards and was intercepted twice. Hartman has four interceptions and zero touchdowns over the past two weeks. Audric Estime looked to be in the midst of having a huge game as the Irish running back had 78 yards rushing in the first half but inexplicably had only two carries over the last 28 minutes of the game despite Notre Dame only trailing by one score for most of the second half. Estime finished the game with 87 yards on 17 carries good for a 5.1 yard average. Estime also caught four passes for 33 yards. Wide Receivers: Grade F The Irish receivers continue to struggle to provide any production in the passing game this season as the group was limited to eight catches good for only 106 yards and no touchdowns. Chris Tyree led the group with four catches, but they garnered only 29 yards. Former walk-on Jordan Faison continues to make the case that he may be Notre Dame's best wide receiver catching two passes for 32 yards. Defense: Defensive Line: Grade C The Notre Dame defense struggled in the first half as the Clemson offense produced 17 of their 24 points in the opening 30 minutes. Clemson running back Phil Mafah had a huge day finishing with 186 yards rushing and two scores on 36 attempts. The Irish defense played much better in the second half and kept giving the Notre Dame offense multiple chances to produce the tying score. Rylie Mills led the defensive line with eight tackles and Howard Cross continued his strong play with seven tackles. Javontae Jean Baptiste was once again all over the field for the Irish with a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss. Linebackers: Grade B- Jack Kiser led the Irish linebackers with with nine tackles seven of them being solo. JD Bertrand also had a good day with six tackles and was also credited with breaking up two passes. Secondary: Grade B The Irish secondary had an up and down day much like the defense as a whole. The Notre Dame secondary limited Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik to 109 yards passing and allowed only a 50 percent completion percentage on the day but did allow a touchdown pass in the first half as Clemson built a big lead. DJ Brown led the secondary with five tackles, Benjamin Morrison was credited with three pass break ups and Xavier Watts had an interception for the third straight week, bringing his season total to 7. Special Teams: Grade C After producing return touchdowns the previous two games, the Notre Dame return unit was kept off the scoreboard. Chris Tyree did muff a punt that led to a Tigers field goal in the first half. Spencer Shrader made three field goals as he accounted for all of Notre Dame's first half points. Summary: Clemson turned two Notre Dame turnovers into 10 points and provided the margin of victory for the Tigers in their upset of the Irish. The Notre Dame defense held Clemson to under 300 yards of total offense but the Irish could not overcome the costly turnovers, as the offense continues to struggle. Notre Dame has their final bye week of the season this week and returns to action in two weeks to host Wake Forest on Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium.

Written by Cade Harper｜Writer｜Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT Photo by Pittsburgh Post When looking at the numbers side of the table, Audric Estime isn't really up in the statistical leaders conversation. He's currently within top 20 for rushing touchdowns and rushing yards. However, if you base this argument off of talent, I believe it's a whole different story. Now Notre Dame isn't very known for the running backs they have produced, but there are some very big names here that may catch your eye. The real question here, where do you rank Audric Estime from a talent standpoint amongst the other top Irish running backs of all time? Let's discuss. Audric's Stellar Start to the 2023 Season Audric Estime has become a familiar name in the college football world this season. He's held the FBS leading rusher title for multiple weeks this season, leads all FBS rushers in broken tackles, is currently top 10 in yards per carry, and top 3 in rushing touchdowns this season. Estime has made himself a mark this season by putting him in contention for the Doak Walker award, which goes to the nation's best running back. Although he is only a Junior, Audric finds himself emerging as the top running back prospect in this 2024 season's upcoming NFL Draft. So far this season, he has tacked on 901 yards, for 12 touchdowns, averaging 6.2 yards per carry. The New York native has recorded 4 multi score games, broken many records, and jumped up in history books for the school. As far as stats go, he isn't very high on the list for leading all time rusher, however given past circumstances, Notre Dame's offense has changed very much through the years and is a harder accomplishment to achieve. Not saying he would be number 1 on my list, but I sure think he deserves some recognition to be in the conversation for top 5 amongst all time Irish running backs. So let's rewind into history a bit and find out where Estime fits in the discussion. Photo by WTHR Jerome Bettis (1990 - 1992) In somewhat recent memory, me, along with many others who I have spoken with, think Jerome Bettis just might be the most talented and accomplished Notre Dame running back of all time. Much like Estime, he isn't very deep in the list of numbers, but he had some great seasons in South Bend. In 1991, Bettis recorded his best season racking up 1,162 total yards, and 20 touchdowns. Bettis would go on to the NFL after the 92' season, forgoing his senior season, to be drafted 10th overall, the highest drafted running back in Notre Dame history. Not to mention, he runs and plays a style of football much like Estime does. Since leaving for the NFL, Bettis was - and still is, one of the most respected and praised running backs the school has ever had. Although he shared a backfield with Reggie Brooks, another Notre Dame great, they both managed to have amazing seasons and careers. Photo by Sports Illustrated Raghib "Rocket" Ismail (1988 - 1990) The Rocket himself, Raghib Ismail, known as the most explosive player in Notre Dame history. Ismail, who technically was a WR, had the running ability that made him look and act like a running back. Although he is 55th on the all time rushing list, he accounts for a lot of points via receiving after the catch and rushing, which is why I'd thought he would be worth a nod here. Multiple electric returns and plays in that 88' - 90' range, most in some very big games vs Miami, going into Ann Arbor in 89', and so many others. If you argue numbers, it's not there. But me along with many others believe the rocket is one of the most talented players to ever play in Notre Dame Stadium. Photo by 247 Sports Darius Walker (2004 - 2006) Moving into the top 5 of the all time rushing leaders and one of my personal favorites from the Charlie Weis era, Darius Walker. Walker holds the #4 spot in all time rushing with 4,065 total yards and 26 total touchdowns. I loved Walker growing up and even had two of his jerseys, definitely one of the more fun players to watch in those mid to late 2000 era. Walker had back to back seasons over 1,100 rushing yards with 19 total touchdowns across 2005 & 2006, a very impressive stat sheet stuffer to say the least. As far as numbers go, he certainly has the resume contend with the elite. Walker is third in all time carries (693) and third in average yards per game over a career (90.3). Walker had also held the record for most yards from a freshman running back in school history (786) until Josh Adams came in 2015 and broke it as he rushed for 835. Across 12 games in 2005, Walker ran for 100+ in all of them, a number only Allen Pinkett, the number 2 leading rusher in school history, has broke. He had a lot of great games to look back on and a ton of accomplishments, like Bettis, to back up his resume. Where Exactly Does Audric Estime Rank? I've had conversations all week regarding Estime's rank across all the great Notre Dame running backs from strictly a talent standpoint. You can bring up the all time leader, Autry Denson, Josh Adams from just a few years ago in 2015 - 2017, Julius Jones, and even Cierre Wood. As great as all of these guys were in South Bend, I truly believe Estime is the one that has what it takes to be the most successful running back in the pros since Jerome Bettis. Mel Kiper has Audric on his draft board as the top RB prospect, and he can potentially stay an extra year to make that stock even higher - who knows. But either way, I think he will have the most success. Of all the top 10 leaders, one of the only successful ones in the NFL was Allen Pinkett, which still wasn't necessarily "great". Estime still has plenty of time to shoot up these rankings in the all time rushing and touchdown list. With that being said, from what I have heard and my personal opinion based on pure talent and potential, I have Audric Estime in my top 5 list of all time great Notre Dame running backs. Some can disagree and come up with some good arguments here without a doubt, but it's definitely a conversation worth having to have him in the conversation. I look forward to watching him the rest of this season, and hopefully next season if he returns, but that's a conversation for another day considering the amount of depth the Irish have at the running back position.

By Liam Farrell｜Senior Staff Writer｜Twitter/X: @LiamFarrell_IT Via Clemson Football Clemson, SC. - Notre Dame had their most flat performance on the 2023 season today against the 4-4 Clemson Tigers. A multitude of errors occurred in the first half for the Irish, which can be highlighted by a Chris Tyree dropped punt, and a Sam Hartman pick six. Clock management was another issue this week with Marcus Freeman electing to take two timeouts into the half with him as Clemson had 3rd and long in their own territory. The defense had massive missed tackling issues, as well. In the second half, the Irish offense just couldn't get anything going. The Notre Dame defense kept the Irish in the game with countless amounts of stops; however, the Irish were pinned deep in their zone on every offensive possession and couldn't get anything going. Let's breakdown the Irish performance from today's game. Offense Via Notre Dame Football Audric Estime. Estime was the lone shining spot for the Irish offense today. He had ___ yards on ___ carries, and was single handily moving the ball for the Irish. He was breaking multiple tackles, and even hurdled two players on one play, as shown above. Lack of Efficiency . Anytime you have to kick field goals instead of punching it in for 7, it hurts. Notre Dame had three good scoring chances in the first half of the game that all resulted in a Spencer Shrader field goal. These stands by the Clemson defense continued to build momentum for their entire team. Sam Hartman . Hartman didn't have his A game in this one today, and has been an extremely inconsistent player this year. The pick six was a gut shot in the first half, and the tipped pass to Gi'Bran Payne on 3rd down really hurt. However, in the second half after Clemson's long touchdown drive; Hartman took matters into his own hands with a gutsy 26-yard touchdown run. Nonetheless, as a whole, it appears the Irish offense has just become extremely stagnant, and Hartman hasn't been able to revolutionize and be a game changer on the offensive end. Gerad Parker . If you look anywhere on Notre Dame twitter, everyone wants Parker fired. Some people asking why we aren't throwing the ball at all, and others asking to give Audric Estime the ball every time. Parker hasn't been great, yes, but his offense isn't helping him out either. Interior O-Lineman missing blocks and wide receivers not being able to create separation have been the death toll for this Irish offense. Defense Via Notre Dame Football 4th Quarter Play. Even though this game might have been the worst for this Notre Dame defense, they kept the Irish in the game with their incredible fourth quarter defensive performance. Countless times, special teams and the offense left Clemson with a short field, and the Notre Dame defense did not give up a point. 2nd String Substitution. On the Clemson scoring drive that went 9 plays for 75 yards, and didn't feature a single Klubnik incompletion, the Irish had both Jaden Mickey and Christian Gray in the game. In a game with this magnitude, I have to wonder why Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart aren't in every snap of the game. We didn't do this against USC or Ohio State, so why would we do it on the road against Clemson in a one score game? Tackling . The missed tackles were atrocious in this one. Howard Cross had a missed tackle that led to a big gain on Clemson's scoring drive, and Marist Liufau was late to spots on many plays in this game. The Irish defense, which has been the absolute backbone of this team, just threw out their poorest performance of the season in this one. Pass Rush. Klubnik was barely pressured in this one, and the Irish pass rush was nowhere to be found, with the exception of one play at the end of the third quarter. Many of Clemson's throws were quick hitters, but Klubnik never got hit today. The quick throws against the blitzes killed the Irish, and the slants on 2nd and long and 3rd and long were very predictable from offensive coordinator, Garrett Riley. Special Teams and Coaching The Muff. Chris Tyree had that extremely electrifying punt return last week; however, his dropped punt was an ultimate momentum shifter in this one. Special Teams were the reason the Irish were able to absolutely control Clemson last year in South Bend, and it seemed a bit deja vu for this year. Punts . The Special Teams punting unit did not do a great job on containing the Clemson return. Many line drive punts allowed Clemson to set up and formulate a big punt return, leaving the Notre Dame defense short handed. Clock Management. I touched on this last week, but I am unsure what Marcus Freeman is doing with the clock at the end of the first half. You have Clemson behind the chains, on 3rd and long, and elect to not call a timeout with 46 seconds left. You have Shrader and his giant leg. His trust in Hartman and the offense has significantly depleted since the beginning of the year, and that was evident with his extremely conservative coaching.

Written by Connor D'Aquila ⏐ Writer ⏐ Twitter: @ConnorDaquilaIT Photo via Keith Srakocic | AP Photos Clemson’s recent struggles have not been a secret, and head coach Dabo Swinney has found himself under a microscope from fans and media. A rant this week on a local radio show only exacerbated the high levels of attention they are receiving. Since their 2019 national championship loss, the Tigers have come down from seeming immortality. From 2015 to 2019, they never lost more than one game in a regular season, appeared in four national championships, and secured two titles, a far cry from the 4-4 record they sit at currently. In 2020, a loss against Notre Dame bumped them from the number one ranking, but they still ended the year competing in the CFP. The next two years ended without CFP berths and with three losses overall, which would be great for most programs but not relative to what Swinney’s teams had been doing. As this year appears to be an even greater regression, let's look into Coach Swinney and the program to see what happened. Dabo’s Philosophy The college football landscape has recently changed in major ways, but Dabo has appeared steadfast in his commitment to the traditional ways of running a program. Both NIL and the transfer portal have completely altered recruiting and certain programs have capitalized in big ways off of it. Colorado is a perfect example of the power of the transfer portal while schools like Miami and Tennessee demonstrate what NIL can do for talent. It could certainly lead to a reset in the powers that be in CFB and has left many wondering if Clemson will be left by the wayside. Now, none of this is to say that they found success only from elite recruiting classes. According to the 247Sports Composite, in the four years prior to their first championship, their highest final recruiting ranking was ninth. In fact, their only top-five classes under Dabo have come since 2020, the beginning of the relative struggles. Generally, it has been about finding quality players and developing them in the system. All this being said, it is going to be tough to continue to compete with the top programs, especially without the transfer portal. While Swinney once said he would quit coaching should college players begin to get paid, Clemson has begun to embrace the changes, although they have not gone to the extremes that others have. More impactful to the program is the attitude toward the transfer portal. As teams around the country stock up each offseason, the Tigers continue to stay quiet. In each of the past two cycles, they took only one transfer, both of whom were backup quarterbacks unlikely to see the field. In 2021, they had no transfers. These mark the years since immediate eligibility was installed, but Swinney has been consistent since the creation of the portal that he would not use it. Is it a coincidence that they have not won a national championship since 2018, the same season the portal was created? I would say no. When players continue to leave the program, and they merely replace them with freshmen, it is difficult to stay relevant year after year. Even Notre Dame, which has fairly significant restrictions on who they can accept out of the portal, has seen players make major impacts. Sam Hartman is the first to come to mind, but even Equanimeous St. Brown and Blake Grupe have played major roles. This year, Thomas Harper and Javontae Jean-Baptiste have been impact players on the defense after spending the past season on different squads. Florida State’s two best players (outside of Jordan Travis), Jared Verse and Keon Coleman, arrived at the school from other programs and have led them to a number four ranking. Looking at some of the most successful quarterbacks in recent years is especially powerful. Caleb Williams, Michael Penix Jr., and Quinn Ewers are some of the top in CFB this year and all started at other schools. We could also look to Joe Burrow, Baker Mayfield, and Jalen Hurts as past great examples. Especially as Clemson's quarterback play has suffered in these down years, it is certainly reasonable that a star transfer could help a lot. Brent Venables Another notable loss in the last two seasons is Brent Venables. Their defensive coordinator since 2012, many would argue he was the most important part of their staff. Since leaving after the 2021 season to be head coach at Oklahoma, the defense has not looked the same. Notre Dame fans saw this a year ago, as a fairly weak ND offense had its way the whole game against Clemson. Interestingly, in the pre-Venables era, Dabo was only 40-23 with the Tigers, but it quickly turned around once he arrived. It is very possible that Venables had a major impact on their success, but it is also unlikely he was the whole cause. There is no way to fully diagnose the issues, and it is likely a combination of factors. These seasons could also be anomalies and we will soon see the Clemson of old again. I would argue that the transfer portal has had the biggest impact on the team, but it is hard to ignore the difference in performance with and without Coach Venables, who has also put together a talented team at Oklahoma. If losses continue, the pressure on Dabo will only grow, and it will be interesting to see how he handles it. This week we saw a five-minute rant on live radio responding to a caller who expressed his displeasure with their recent performance. Swinney referenced their 12-straight ten-win seasons, the multiple national championships, and the “vocal minority” of fans who cause all the problems. In his typical fashion, he has stood by these comments, and it was warranted to be angry. These comments should be expected, however, given the departure from so much recent success. As for this weekend's game, this team still has a lot of talent, and the Irish should not take them lightly. Playing in Death Valley is never easy, and the Tigers are going to show up for this one. None of this is meant to imply that Clemson’s program is finished or that ND will steamroll them in this game. I expect a very competitive matchup, but it is undeniable that the team has not looked the same in recent years.

Written by Cade Harper | Writer | Twitter/X: @CadeHarperIT Photo by Notre Dame Athletics I hope everyone had as much fun this weekend as I did. Always a great day when the Irish put up 50+ points on the scoreboard. Surely the offense erupted then right? Well... a punt return touchdown, a blocked punt recovery for a touchdown, and a pick six. The other four remaining touchdowns came from the Irish running backs as Estime gets back to back games with 2+ Touchdowns. Defense stays hot and Al Golden deserves a raise for this performance. Notre Dame forces 5 total turnovers again for the second straight week, this time on Christian Veilleux. I guess Notre Dame players who end up switching positions (Chris Tyree RB-WR, Xavier Watts WR-DB) find more success than others. So let's have a closer look into the numbers after this weekend's massacre in South Bend. Photo by USA Today With the Irish forcing 5 turnovers, again, it sure moved them up in the defensive rankings a whole lot this week. Al Golden's defense now ranks inside the top 10 in 4 major categories. 10th in scoring defense, 3rd in pass efficiency defense, 3rd in forced turnovers, and 10th in yards per play allowed. I haven't seen a Notre Dame defense this dominant since maybe 2012, and that's saying a lot. Watts gets a pair of interceptions, again. True freshman Christian Gray played a fantastic game and snagged his first career interception in absence of captain corner, Cam Hart. Sophomore Jaden Mickey fills in for star cornerback Benjamin Morrison, who was ruled out as a game-time decision, also got his first career interception; even better, it was a pick six. It sure was a fun day to be an Irish fan. With Watts' 2 more interceptions, 4 in the last two games, he now leads the country in interceptions with an impressive 6. Freshman corner Christian Gray led the Irish defense in snaps with a whopping 42 to get him some game experience. Safe to say it definitely paid off. Pitt QB Christian Veilleux went 2-7 when targeting wide receivers covered by Gray. Gray would allow just 30 yards on those 2 catches along with his amazing one-handed tip drill interception. Veilleux recorded a passer rating of just 5.4 when targeting Gray, and he would also record four tackles on top of his great game. Photo by USA Today Currently in the college football world, there are 3 teams that are ranked in the top 15 in scoring offense, scoring defense, and top 10 in yards per play on offense, then also yards per play allowed on defense vs FBS opponents. Those teams are Michigan, Georgia, and Notre Dame. The combined opponent records from these teams you ask? Notre Dame's opponents have a combined record of 41-23, while Georgia's opponents are 22-35, and Michigan's are 31-33. Take that with a grain of salt, but this a very impressive accomplishment, and one to be proud of if you're Al Golden and the Irish defense. Besides sitting in such good company, Notre Dame did more than just dominate on the defensive side of the football. The special teams showed out, again. The team has now scored a touchdown on offense, defense, and special teams two weeks in a row. The Irish are outscoring their last two opponents 106-27. Safe to say this team is hot and at the perfect time. Photo by Herald Bulletin How impressive was Chris Tyree's punt return? He quietly joined great company in the history books of Notre Dame. With Tyree's return, he joins Julius Jones, Raghib "Rocket" Ismail, and Heisman winner, Tim Brown, as the only Fighting Irish players to ever score a touchdown on a punt return, kick return, rushing, and reception. Pretty awesome company if you ask me. Only three active players currently in the NCAA have accomplished this feat. A.J. Henning from Northwestern, Zachariah Branch from Southern Cal, and now of course Notre Dame's Chris Tyree. Tyree had a phenomenal game on Saturday. He had an amazing 47 yard deep ball grab leading to an Irish touchdown later on in the drive, making this his second 45+ yard reception in back to back games. That wasn't all the special teams did though. Pitt managed to muff a punt inside the five yard line as well and the ball would roll into the endzone where Notre Dame's Ramon Henderson would find an early Christmas present for himself, making that 14 points towards Notre Dame's special teams alone. Impressive stuff. We've covered the defense, we've covered the special teams, now let's jump into some offensive numbers. Photo by Goshen News In a game where it felt like the offense was never needed, they managed to put up some impressive scores, gains, and numbers. However, the Irish managed to lose a star in TE Mitchell Evans, who was recently reported to have a torn ACL on a hit by a Pitt defender late in the 3rd quarter. Evans has been reported to miss the rest of the 2023 season. On the brighter side of things, Estime had a career day. His stat line read 19 carries, 130 total yards, and 3 touchdowns for the beast himself. Sam Hartman looked off his game to start out, but became more comfortable as the day went on. He eventually connected with WR Rico Flores for a 60 yard gain and a long 47 yard gain with Chris Tyree. Maybe it was the shaved beard and mustache? Who knows, but I do know that Audric Estime loves finding the endzone. He did just that, three times to be exact. Audric scored his 21st rushing touchdown of his Notre Dame career this past Saturday, putting him into 16th on the all time rushing touchdown list, which is currently tied with Rickey Watters. Estime ran like his life depended on it, powering through every single play he could averaging a cool 6 yards per carry. Even Jadarian Price looked aggressive as he found the endzone for his second straight game averaging 5.8 yards per carry. Despite only having 6 carries, still impressive stuff from the sophomore. Estime can't seem to help but credit anybody but the offensive line saying in a postgame press conference, "The offensive line is led by the strong. We're led by those big boys. They're the hardest workers on the team, every week, Monday to Friday. They're bringing the juice, that's all a championship team needs-to be led by the strong." Hartman recovered quickly as he finished with a nice 288 passing yards on 18-25 of his passes. He was then replaced by backup Steve Angeli who looked more comfortable than ever throwing yet another touchdown off the bench. 12 different players would catch a pass from Quarterbacks on Saturday. Notre Dame is cruising smooth and on a hot streak into week 10 of the college football season as they travel to South Carolina to face a well familiar foe, the Clemson Tigers. The Tigers are currently 4-4 and trying to avoid going under .500 on their record for the first time since 2011. They are coming off a 24-17 loss vs North Carolina St, who Notre Dame beat down earlier this season.

Written by Mike Stacey｜Writer｜X (Twitter): @MikeStaceyIT IG: @mikestaceyit Photo via Notre Dame Athletics The roller coaster ride that has been the Notre Dame football season had finally reached it's first bye of the year in week 8 and then rolled on against Pitt this weekend at home in week 9. The Irish are the only team to have played 8 games before having a bye, a bye in which they desperately needed after 4 straight night games against ranked opponents. After coming off that well needed rest, the Irish thumped Pitt by their widest margin of victory against the Panthers since 1996, 58-7. They currently sit with a 7-2 record and ranked 12th in the country by the AP, and 15th by the playoff committee. Even though their playoff hopes have fallen to the way side, they still have a chance to capture the ever illusive New Year's 6 Bowl win that Brian Kelly chased his entire career without catching. The Irish came very close in 2021, but ultimately saw a big lead and win fade away like a mirage in the dessert against Ok State in Arizona. The good thing for the Irish is that the most difficult part of their schedule has passed, and with Clemson receiving their 4th loss on Saturday, the Irish won't play a ranked team again this season. So will this be the year the Irish finally bring home a big bowl game win? Or will inconsistent play continue to haunt them and cost them another big opportunity? I am hopeful that with this defense, and the potential we have on offense, that the Irish will be up to the challenge. However, for that to happen, this team needs to continue to stay focused and improve. With that in mind, let's take a look at what the Offense, Defense, and Special Teams has done thus far in the season to get a better idea of what is working and what needs improvement. Offense: The Irish offense currently ranks 41st in Total Offense, 44th in Passing Offense, 57th in Rushing Offense and tied for 33trd in Turnovers lost. The offense was a tale of two teams throughout the first 8 games of the season. In the first 4 games the Irish scored 42, 56, 45, and 41 points while averaging 408 yards per game. The next four games they scored 14, 14, 20, and 48 while averaging 320 yards per game. Now, it has to be stated that those last 4 games came against much better opponents, but nonetheless the regression of the offense over that stretch was obvious, mainly in the passing game where the Notre Dame wideouts needed to be put on a milk carton. In those last 4 games the most yards by a wide receiver came by Chris Tyree with 62 yards on 2 catches against USC. After that? Jordan Faison, the walk on, with 48 yards on 2 catches against Louisville. Those numbers simply are not going to get the job done, and even though several of the wideouts have been fighting hamstring injuries (cause for concern?) these numbers are inexcusable. The output, or lack there of, has become a great concern over the season and one that is going to have to change if this team is going to win out and take home a big bowl victory. Many have pointed fingers at first year Offensive Coordinator Gerad Parker for the offensive woes that have developed during the season. However, when asked at his press conference last Monday about what the difference on offense was from the first four to last four games, Marcus Freeman's response was "execution." He also stated that he wanted to simplify the offense by saying "We have to simplify so the execution is where it needs to be. It's not more, more, more, it's clear, clear, clear." He also talked about taking more shots downfield, specifically to Tobias Merriweather for 50/50 balls. The good news is the offense responded this past weekend by putting up 535 yards of total offense, with 380 of those coming in the passing game. Rico Flores had 72 yards, Christ Tyree 62, and Tobias Merriweather had 50. Hopefully this is another big step in the right direction for an offense who has now shown notable improvement in their last 2 games. Defense: The Irish Defense ranks 11th in Total Defense, 3rd in Passing Yards Allowed, 37th in Rushing Defense and tied for 3rd in Turnovers Gained. Simply put, the Irish Defense has been the foundation of this program and carrying the load for the majority of the season. The Defensive Line, which was a concern at the beginning of the season, seems to get better every week with the best performance coming two games ago against USC. Against the Trojans, the D-Line kept Caleb Williams under duress the entire game which helped lead to 6 sacks for the Irish. (Linebackers share a lion share of that success as well) If this unit can continue to progress, they are going to be a handful for any opponent. The linebackers boasted a ton of experience but still had question marks coming into the season, especially for Marist Liufau, who struggled in his first year under Al Golden's system. This year, however, Marist has played to his potential and the rest of the linebackers have been flying around the ball all season. This unit has great experience and leaders like JD Berstand, who are doing a terrific job of being assignment correct and leading this defense. The difference from last year's backers who couldn't seem to get off a block to this year's disruptive unit has been very apparent and a major reason why the defense continues to perform at a high level. The corners have been as advertised, PHENOMENAL. This unit helped hold the Trojans to under 200 passing yards in a game where Caleb Williams was playing from behind, and held Marvin Harrison Jr to 32 yards! Both Hart and Morrison have potential to be very good corners at the next level, even though for some odd reason Cam Hart does not get the recognition he deserves. And with both Hart and Morrison out against Pitt, the back ups showed exactly how deep this team is at the position. Highlighted by a Jaden Mickey pick six and an acrobatic interception by Christian Gray, the Irish have the best corners in the country, period! Behind them at safety is another position group that came into the season with question marks, but we have seen steady progress that absolutely exploded onto the scene against USC and continued this weekend against Pitt with Xavier Watts cashing in on 4 picks, a fumble return for a TD and a forced fumble in the past 2 games. The entire defense seems to be gelling right now and Al Golden deserves a great deal of credit. A guy who many Irish fans wanted out of the building last year is going to be a highly coveted coach after this season. If the Offense can catch up to the Defensive side of the ball, the Irish are going to be a force for anyone who has to deal with them down the stretch. Special Teams: The Irish rank 8th in Kickoff Returns, 18th in Punt Returns, 96th in Kick Return Defense, 94th in Punt Return Defense, and 91st in Net Punting. After ND's juggernaut special teams unit last season that was an absolute nightmare for opposing punters, this years Special Teams unit left a lot to be desired through the majority of the season. However, the past 2 weeks have shown marked improvement which has included both a punt and kick return for a touchdown. The Irish rankings have improved in every category after their strong showing against Pitt this past weekend. As far as field goals go, Spencer Shrader has show- cased that he has an absolute LEG and can hit from 50+ with ease. This is a huge asset for Notre Dame moving forward and although you would like to see some more accuracy from the 40-49 range, (1-3) his range from 50+ (4-6) has been fantastic. The other positive is Jadarian Price in the kick return game. We all caught a glimpse of what he can do against USC and saw some more explosiveness on his touchdown run against Pitt. He finally appears to be healthy which should only lead to more success in the kick return game. The big special teams player this weekend was Christ Tyree, who had an absolutely incredible punt return for a touchdown where he ran through several Pitt defenders before speeding away for a big Irish touchdown. Tyree is best known for his return against Wisconsin last year, and this past weekend showed that was not a fluke. With both Price and Tyree getting hot right now, this special teams unit that was concerning early on may be a strength moving forward. All in all, there have been plenty of ebbs and flows for this team up to this point. However, their dominate win over USC and Pitt in consecutive games has been their best showing so far this season. The Irish have a golden (pun intended) opportunity to show the country what they can do when operating at full force for the rest of the season. The only question is, will they? Will some of the old inconsistencies come back to light next week against Clemson? Or will the Irish continue to play sound football and beat the Tigers in their stadium? Depending on the answer to those two questions, this can either be a season in which the program takes a step back or a step forward. Only time will tell...

By: Nick Kremer⏐Editor⏐Twitter: @NickKremerIT ⏐Profile: @NickKremer

Written by Phil Kowalis｜Writer｜Twitter/X: @PhilKowalisIT Photo via 247 Sports Notre Dame shook off a sluggish first half by scoring 27 points over a nine minute span of the third quarter and the Irish went on to post a dominating 58-7 win over a University of Pittsburgh team that looked dazed and confused for most of the afternoon, and by the end of this one-sided affair wanted nothing more than to pick up their boxed postgame meal and to get on the team bus for the long trip back home. For the second week in a row the Irish scored touchdowns in all three phases of the game, offense, defense and special teams, on the way to improving their record to 7-2 on the season. Chris Tyree snapped an eight-year drought without a punt return touchdown for the Irish with a dazzling 82-yard punt return to open the scoring, Jaden Mickey contributed a 42-yard pick six in the third quarter, as the Irish secondary intercepted Pitt quarterback Christian Veilleux four times on the afternoon. The Notre Dame defense forced five turnovers for the second consecutive week, as it once again turned in a dominate performance. Let's take a look at this week's grades after the blowout victory over the Panthers. Photo By: Michael Caterina/AP Offense: Offensive Line/Tight Ends: Grade B The Notre Dame offensive line did an adequate job in both the run game and in pass protection against the Pittsburgh front seven. The Irish offensive line opened the way for Irish rushers to total 155 yards on 33 attempts good for an average of 4.7 yards per carry for the game. The offensive line also allowed only one sack of quarterback Sam Hartman. Pittsburgh entered the game with 22 sacks on the season and had averaged just over three sacks a game. Irish tight ends had a big day in the pass game totaling eight catches for 99 yards on the day. Mitchell Evans led Irish tight ends with five catches for 66 yards. Freshman Cooper Flanagan made his first catch of the season hauling in a 19-yard pass from Steve Angeli for Notre Dame's final points of the game. Quarterback/Running Backs: Grade B Sam Hartman recovered from two first quarter interceptions to complete 18 of 25 passes for 288 yards before being replaced by Steve Angeli with the Irish holding a 44-0 lead in the fourth quarter. Angeli was sharp in his mop up role, completing six of his seven pass attempts for 92 yards and Notre Dame's only passing touchdown of the game. Angeli showed promise, not wasting any opportunity to show the Irish faithful that he may very well be a viable option to man this offense next season. Audric Estime led the Irish on the ground rushing for 114 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries. Jadarian Price added 35 yards on six carries and also had a touchdown for the Irish. Irish running backs were also active in the pass game totaling five catches for 48 yards. There isn't much else that can be said about this group that hasn't already, as they managed to put together another stellar performance which they will need to carry into Death Valley this week. Wide Receivers: Grade B Notre Dame's wide receivers had their most productive day since the matchup with Central Michigan in the fourth game of the season. Irish wide receivers totaled 11 catches for 233 yards six different receivers caught passes in the game. The Irish were once again able to stretch the field with the pass game, something that had been missing from the Irish offense over the past four games, as Rico Flores Jr,. Tobias Merriweather and Chris Tyree all had catches of more than 40 yards. This should serve as a confidence booster for a group that has struggled during the latter half of the season, and will hopefully prove as a stepping stone toward future success. Photo By: Michael Caterina/AP Defense Defensive Line: Grade B The Notre Dame defensive line did not have an eye-popping statistical type of day but quietly went about their business of shutting down the Panthers running game as Pittsburgh was held to just 53 rushing yards on the day and a 2.8 yard per carry average. Howard Cross led the defensive line in tackles with two and Jordan Botelho had one of the two Irish sacks of Panther quarterback Christian Veilleux. Although the Panthers entered the game with one of the more abysmal offenses in the ACC, the Irish front held strong and did their job to the degree that was expected. Linebackers: Grade B Much like the effort of the defensive line, no one in the Irish linebacking corps had big individual numbers but worked very efficiently as a unit to shut down the Pittsburgh offense. JD Bertrand led the linebackers in tackles with five and Marist Liufau had a sack. Freshman Drayk Bowen was also credited with a tackle in the fourth quarter, as we got to see a glimpse of what the future of this room holds. Secondary: Grade A The Irish secondary was the best defensive unit on the field for a defense that completely dominated the Pittsburgh offense all day long, Xavier Watts continued his outstanding play by intercepting Veilleux twice in the first half. Watts now has an NCAA leading six interceptions on the season, and four in the last two weeks. Jaden Mickey starting in place of the injured Benjamin Morrison added a 42 yard pick six for the Irish secondary after narrowly missing on two jumped routes earlier in the ball game, and Christian Gray also had an incredibly acrobatic interception for the Irish defense, showcasing why he was one of the more highly-touted defenders in Notre Dame's 2023 recruiting class. Thomas Harper led the secondary with five tackles, two of those being for loss. Special Teams: Grade A The Irish return unit had a major impact on the game for the second straight week, as Chris Tyree had a highlight reel 82-yard punt return for a touchdown. The Notre Dame punt return unit also got involved in the scoring fun, as Ramon Henderson recovered a muffed punt in the endzone for a touchdown. Jordan Faison added a 20-yard punt return where he once again showcased his shiftiness to cap a very productive day for the Irish punt return team. Punter Bryce McFerson placed both of his punt attempts inside the 20-yard line and averaged 38 yards on his two punt attempts. Summary: The Irish defense set the tone early forcing three and outs on Pittsburgh's first two offensive possessions and held the Panther's to only 255 yards of offense on the day. The Irish offense recovered from a shaky start to pile up 535 yards in total offense and the Notre Dame special team unit outscored the Panther offense by themselves by scoring two touchdowns on the day. Needless to say, it appears the Irish offense is still having some issues that won't be as easy to recover from if they happen on the road next week against a talented Clemson defense. The Irish take on the Tigers (4-4) who are looking to rebound from their worst record through eight games since 2010.