Notre Dame football: 3 takeaways from season-opening win over Duke

2. Notre Dame found something special with Kyren Williams

While the Notre Dame passing game never really took off, sophomore running back Kyren Williams had himself a day. The St. Louis-native racked up two touchdowns on 112 rushing yards. While these may not be mind-blowing numbers, he was most definitely the star of the show.

Duke was doing a good job locking down Notre Dame’s young receivers, which led to Williams stepping up. In fact, he also led the Irish in receiving yards, with 93 yards on only two receptions.

When I say the passing game never took off, I don’t mean to slander Ian Book. He had a solid day, throwing for 263 yards. However, he just wasn’t as explosive as he could’ve been. Williams was there for assistance, though, specifically on a 75-yard pass play before halftime. This was quickly erased by Book’s only interception of the day, however.

Notre Dame is going to come across some tough secondaries over the course of the season, and they’re gonna need a strong backfield in response. Luckily for the Irish, Williams seems to have stepped into the role of RB1 and could be a legitimate star for this championship-contending team.

After losing leading rusher Tony Jones Jr., it was clear that this program would need someone to fill this role. The Irish faithful should be excited, as it looks like they have a great player to lead their backfield this season.