Irish Get First Win of the Season...

And right there above is one of the keys to their success...Cornerback, Robert Blanton, who has been one of the defense's most consistent players this season, had a hell of a game against Michigan State...Blanton had 6 tackles, 3 for a loss, 1 sack, 3 passes broken up, and an interception her returned 82 yards, deep into Michigan State territory...

Saturday afternoon, in South Bend, the Irish defense finally nutted up, and took control of the game...Safety Harrison Smith was all over the place making plays...And the defensive line looked great...Lead by Freshman Aaron Lynch...Yeah, remember I mentioned him in my season PREVIEW...18 years old, 6'6" 265 lbs. and the kid was putting pressure on MSU Quarterback Kurt Cousins all day long...

he Irish gave up too many yards through the air for my liking, but holding a team to 29 yards on the ground is nice...

The Irish offense got two touchdowns from Cierre Wood, who has been rock solid for them now through 3 games...QB Tommy Rees did not put up flashy numbers like he did the last two weeks, but he has been consistent with turning the ball over...Adding another interception and another fumble to his tally...5 INT's and 3 Fumbles in two and a half games...So he has 6 TD's...5 INT's...and 3 Fumbles...Okay, Irish fans, lets stop acting like he's the greatest thing since Tony Rice...

Then the Special Teams...The Irish got a 89 yard kickoff return from Freshman George Atkinson III...I've been waiting to see this kid, and what a way to get people's attention...But then sure handed punt returner John Goodman fumbled a fair catch at his own 21 yard line...Luckily after that was when Blanton made his pick...

These guys need to seriously work on fielding punts...

I'll be honest, I kept my hopes in check this week...Even when the Irish seemed in control, I waited...After the first two games, I had no reason to be confident...Now I hope the Irish can build on this...But I'm not going to get my hopes up for next weeks game against Pitt...There are still plenty of things that need to get cleaned up...This is a good team, with plenty of talent...They just need to cool it with the brain farts!

Later, The Beeze.

Fighting Irish Dominate Nevada (35-0)

This morning I heard Mark May say this..."Nevada will run all over Notre Dame in the opening game upset." Now let me be clear...I've never liked Mark May, and that made me dislike him even more...But as I watched the Fighting Irish do nearly anything and everything to the Nevada Wolfpack, that they wanted to...I thought of stupid Mark May and the stupid words that came out of his mouth...And I smiled...

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That said, I did think that Nevada was going to give the Irish a tougher game...But I'm glad they didn't...
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The Irish moved the ball well in their first series, including Weis going for a fourth and short, which he has done consistently through his career...But this time he didn't have to pass for it...This year's Fighting Irish can run the ball...There was an explosiveness from the offensive line we haven't seen in the last few years...The opening drive ended with a 19 yard touchdown pass from Clausen to tight end Kyle Rudolph...The fact that Rudolph was covered well didn't matter...As his 6'6" frame went up over the defender to get the ball...

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In the second quarter Clausen hit WR Michael Floyd twice for touchdowns...The first was a 24 yard reception...The next one was a quick strike followed by 70 yards to the end zone as Golden Tate threw a good block that helped spring Floyd...

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The Irish scored again in the second quarter on a 1 yard run by Armando Allen...Set up by a 19 yard run by Jonas Gray...

Clausen had started out completing 10 of his first 11 passes, for 184 yards, and 3 touchdowns...He would add to the numbers in the third by connecting with Floyd again on an 88 yard touchdown reception...

Clausn would finish 15 for 18 with 314 yards, and 4 touchdowns...Floyd had 4 receptions for 189 yards and 3 touchdowns...Golden Tate had 3 receptions for 59 yards...Allen rushed for 72 yards and 1 touchdown, on 15 carries...Gray had 50 yards on 9 carries...

The defense clearly had a great game, keeping the Wolfpack off the scoreboard...Kyle McCarthy and Robert Blanton both had interceptions and the defense also recovered a fumble on a dropped option pitch...

Final game stats for the Irish...1st downs: 20...Total Yards: 510...Passing: 332...Rushing: 178... 3rd down conversions: 6-12...4th down conversions: 1-2...0 turnovers...Time of Possession: 33:40

Great way to start the season...Next up...Michigan.

Later, The Beeze.