First and foremost: WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!What a game! What a win by the Irish! After two very disheartening losses, to see Notre Dame come out and play so inspired against the reeling Utes was just what the doctor ordered. Again, what is a Ute? Does anyone know?
My dad was actually at the game and he told me that from the start Notre Dame had all the intangibles to win, from their extra week of rest to Utah's crushing 47-7 loss at the hands of TCU the week before. He also said the atmosphere was incredible after Robert Blanton's blocked punt, and that the defense was the biggest difference maker in the game. He was thrilled to see them win their best game of the season in person. But not enough to storm the field.
I myself was so pumped that as I was driving back to school with my friends (we had gone to Pittsburgh for the weekend), I rolled down the windows, blared the Notre Dame fight song full volume on my iPod and sang along at the top of my lungs. My friends half-jokingly groaned (I'm a terrible singer) but luckily they all understood what a big win it was, or at least know how useless it is to try and reel me in when I'm riled up over football. I have such great friends.
Notre Dame came to play. They got big plays when they needed them. Their defense was strong. Tommy Rees stepped up. They finished the game. No fourth quarter lapses. The seniors had the satisfaction of winning their last home game against a ranked team. They came into the game believing they could win and they played their hearts out.
Her loyal sons marched onward to victory to end their 11 game losing streak against AP top 25 teams. And they did it without their starting quarterback, leading running back and three of their top four wide receivers.
Game Ball-
I give this week's game ball to every single senior on the Notre Dame football squad. The Fighting Irish haven't won a Senior Day game since 2007 and these guys more than deserved it with the way the played. I also want to give wide receiver Duval Kamara a special nod. The senior, who had 7 catches on the season, caught two touchdown passes in his best game of the season, maybe of his career. He stepped up in a big way for a team missing three of their top four receivers.
True freshman quarterback Tommy Rees gets the honorable mention for his three touchdown performance and first career win.
Positives-
-EVERYTHING! Just kidding.
-The entire defense. As my dad said, they were the biggest difference maker in the game. Manti T'eo had a huge third down stop. Harrison Smith had a huge pick. They forced turnovers. They never let Utah's running game get going, giving up only 71 yards on the ground. Utah didn't even score after the first quarter! If the opposing team doesn't score a touchdown the entire game, you know you're doing something right on defense. Especially against a team that can put up 400 yards of offense and score 40 points a game.
-NOTRE DAME RAN THE BALL MORE THAN THEY THREW IT! IT'S A MIRACLE! The ratio was pretty even, 29 rushing attempts and 20 passing. Maybe Brian Kelly learned last week against Tulsa that he can't put the entire game on Rees' shoulders. You all can imagine how happy I was to see the Irish constantly pounding the ball effectively and Brian Kelly not abandoning the run game. It definitely helped to give Rees some relief and wear down Utah.
-Notre Dame played almost completely mistake-free and didn't turn the ball over while forcing Utah to make mistakes. The Utes had three turnovers (counting the blocked punt) and 11 penalties. They also capitalized on Utah's mistakes. The Irish weren't lazy or sloppy. They got the job done.
-Killer instinct. After jumping ahead to a 14-3 lead at halftime, Notre Dame never let Utah get back in the game. They finished them off and didn't let the Utes hang around like they did with so many other teams this season. I can't have been the only one worrying about another fourth-quarter collapse, but it didn't happen.
-As I mentioned above, Notre Dame has now snapped a 11 game losing streaked against top 25 teams, which could end up being significant in the new Brian Kelly era.
Negatives-
-I'm not to spoil such a great victory by the Irish by nitpicking. I'm going to continue being excited over this win and relish it. I hope you all do the same!
This was definitely Brian Kelly's signature win this year under the Irish. These are the kind of games he was brought here to win. Whatever he did to prepare them in the bye week worked. Notre Dame is now 5-5 on the season and still in the hunt to remain bowl eligible. Let's see if they can keep the momentum from this game and come out with the same heart and inspiration against Army next week.
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