Previewing NC State’s Opponent: #10 Notre Dame

#10 Notre Dame has been dominant in their first two games. In two games, the Irish have scored a combined 98 points, and have only given a field goal in each game.

Sure, the games were against Navy (42-3) and Tennessee St. (56-3), but there is no denying they handled business.

The Irish are averaging 500 yards of offense per contest. The play calling has been fairly balanced, rushing the ball 63 times and passing the ball 55 times.

Former Wake Forest Quarterback Sam Hartman will be a familiar face for the Wolfpack defense. Through the first two games, Hartman’s ProFootballFocus grade of 90.9 is the best on the Notre Dame offense, and the 7th best in College Football. He has completed 82.5% of his passes for 445 yards and 6 touchdowns, with 0 interceptions. For good measure, he even logged a rushing touchdown.

Jayden Thomas has been Hartman’s #1 target through 2 games (8 targets), catching 8 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Thomas also has the best PFF grade of all the Irish receivers.

After Thomas, Hartman has spread the wealth, targeting 5 separate players 5 times: Rico Flores Jr., Tobias Merriweather, Jaden Greathouse, Mitchell Evans (TE), and Chris Tyree. Greathouse leads the team with 2 touchdown receptions, and also has 5 receptions for 98 yards.

Hartman has also involved the Running Backs in the passing game, targeting them 24% of the time.

As good as Hartman has been, the Irish have been bullies in the running game, averaging 206 rushing yards per game. Audric Estime is clearly the lead Running Back for Notre Dame. He has rushed for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2 games, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. But don’t get it twisted…even though Estime is averaging roughly 15 carries per game, the Irish’s rushing attack isn’t a one-man show.

Jeremiyah Love has averaged 9.6 yards per carry (86 yards), and has logged 1 touchdown. Gi’Bran Payne has rushed the ball 12 times for 58 yards, and has 4 receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Jadarian Price has rushed the ball 6 times for 30 yards, and has 2 receptions for 51 yards and a touchdown.

On the defensive side of the ball, the three players tied for the most tackles (10) happen to also be the three players with the three highest grades according to PFF: DT Howard Cross III (90.1), LB Marist Liufau (82.8)  and LB Jack Kiser (82.0).

3rd String Defensive End Joshua Burnham leads the Irish with 4 pressures, and his PFF grade of 80.6 is the 4th best on the team. Defensive End Javontae Jean-Baptiste ranks 5th on the defense with a PFF grade of 78.5.

Linebacker J.D. Bertrand and Cornerback Cam Hart are the defensive captains. Bertrand has 8 tackles through 2 games. Benjamin Morrison, the other Cornerback on the other side of Hart was a Freshman All-American last year.