Notre Dame football continued to cruise ahead of its showdown with Ohio State and here are three takeaways from win over Central Michigan.
It would be easy for Notre Dame football to have a letdown ahead of the showdown with Ohio State next week, but the Fighting Irish are humming and looked solid once again in a 41-17 win over Central Michigan on Saturday.
On the first play from scrimmage for the Irish, Sam Hartman hit Tobias Merriweather for a 75-yard touchdown which basically ended any doubt about whether the Irish would win the game.
Central Michigan did well to keep things competitive. The MAC team kept the score fairly close and within two scores most of the way. Notre Dame football was finally able to put it away at the end, but truly, the outcome was never in doubt, and here are three takeaways.
Sam Hartman is a machine
Believe it or not, this was the first time Sam Hartman threw for 300 yards as a Notre Dame football quarterback. He’s been impressive from the get-go this season but was stellar again on Saturday completing 16-of-26 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns.
It’s incredible the impact he’s had on the Notre Dame offense. Marcus Freeman and company have recruited some talented playmakers and Hartman is the point man the Irish needed.
We all expected Hartman to be the most impactful transfer in college football and through the first month of the season, that’s been true. Hartman has 13 touchdown passes, zero interceptions, and next week, he’ll give the Irish a legit chance of winning against the Buckeyes.
Audric Estime is one of the best running backs in the country
Sam Hartman gets a lot of the publicity when it comes to the Notre Dame football team and rightfully so, but the Fighting Irish can pound the rock.
Audric Estime has been productive each and every week. Saturday, he went over 100 yards for the third straight game and totaled 176 yards on 20 carries. That puts him at 521 yards this season with an average of more than eight yards per carry.
Estime is averaging 130 yards per game and Notre Dame has an underrated offensive line. In the first game, Estime actually had 95 yards so he was just a few yards shy of four consecutive 100-yard games and with the way Michigan ran over Ohio State the past two seasons, the Irish have to be planning on testing that run defense next week.
Four games in, Estime looks like one of the best backs in all of college football.
Ohio State should be worried
Last season, the Notre Dame defense was good enough to win the game against Ohio State, but Tyler Buchner wasn’t and the Irish just couldn’t get much going offensively.
This time around, in South Bend, that shouldn’t be an issue. Ohio State has a really good defense, especially the front, and the Irish will be challenged to protect Hartman.
This Notre Dame football team looks like a serious playoff contender and one that could have a shot to win the national championship. But it needs to prove it can beat one of the elite programs.
Ohio State is definitely one of the programs in that group. The Irish were competitive in the game a season ago, but going into the Week 4 showdown in South Bend, I give Notre Dame the edge.
The Irish actually have the better quarterback and the defense is at least as good as what the Buckeyes will bring to South Bend. To me, it will define whether Notre Dame football makes the playoff or not, so we’ll find out next week if this team is the real deal.