Slump busting in the Big D

 

The win over Arizona State was the best and most balanced game Notre Dame has played this season.  ASU iss a talented team as well as a ranked team that the Irish should feel proud about beating.  The Irish needed to get out of a funk, and that process has started in Dallas against Arizona State.

No, the defense did not return to the greatness of 2012, but it was as close as we have seen this year, having held the Sun Devils to 65 yards rushing.  The pass rush was back, resulting in six sacks on mobile quarterback Taylor Kelly.  At the end of the day, the defense was good enough to win on Saturday night.  Stephon Tuitt may be getting over the hump with his closing attack.  Prince Shembo showed how good he can be putting his hand on the ground coming off the edge.  Jaylon Smith did a great job and much needed one on containment.  The defensive backs are still getting beat on man to man.

The win, however, did come at a price with season ending injuries to redshirt junior inside linebacker Jarrett Grace and senior wide receiver Dan Smith, which will end up being a career ending injury as he will be out of eligibility.  Grace’s loss can be covered by Dan Fox as well as backups Kendall Moore, Joe Schmidt and even freshman Michael Deeb. 

The offensive line played well and it was nice to see Steve Elmer rotate in with Christian Lombard at right guard and not only play well but hold his own against 310 lb. ASU defensive tackle Will Sutton.  Hard-nosed running back Cam McDaniel gelled well with the line to grind out tough yards in his home state on Saturday.  This line showed it can get the job done not allowing a single sack against the Sun Devil defense, allowing Rees to be successful including tossing junior tight end Ben Koyack his first career touchdown.  However, the mistakes by center Nick Martin need to be fixed immediately if not sooner.

Take away Kyle Brindza’s first field goal attempt that looked like he was kicking it with his opposite foot, and the Irish special teams actually looked special.  Brindza redeemed himself by hitting a career long field goal, and the Irish had a punt that was downed at the one yard line late in the contest.  The Irish even had a non-terrible return game.

 

Overall, this was a solid showing for the Irish with great effort and contributions from veterans likeT.J. Jones, Dan Fox and Bennett Jackson, as well as newer on field supporters such as Ben Koyack and Romeo Okwara.