Game Observations - Offense Edition: Notre Dame Dominates Navy 42-3

Thoughts and analysis of the Notre Dame offense from its 42-3 victory over Navy

Notre Dame (1-0) kicked off its 2023 season in impressive fashion, beating Navy by a 42-3 score. The Irish offense was dominant in the victory.

Here is my instant analysis and thoughts of the performance of the Notre Dame offense from the victory. 

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

*** It was quite the introduction for offensive coordinator Gerad Parker, who coached circles around the Navy defensive staff. Notre Dame certainly out-played Navy and has more talent, but Parker and the offensive staff did a great job putting their talent in position to thrive. We saw that in the run game, pass game and screen game. Navy could never get a read on what Notre Dame was trying to do, which allowed Notre Dame to dominate from start to finish. 

*** A big part of the game was having a diverse plan to attack and beat the Navy blitz. Notre Dame had just one first down in the second half of last season's game because the Irish could find no answers for the Navy pressures. That was not a problem in this game. Parker went after the blitz several ways, beating inside and out, beating it with the run and pass game. The Irish converted an early 3rd-and-10 with a quick inside run that split the outside pressure. Later in that same series, Parker called a quick slide screen to Audric Estime that got outside of the edge pressure and went for 22 yards. They threw quick screens that resulted in multiple big plays that took advantage of the pressures.

*** Much of the discussion will be about quarterback Sam Hartman, but the Notre Dame offensive line was outstanding in the win. The game plan got Navy on its heels a bit, but the offensive line helped carry out the game plan by controlling the line of scrimmage. Notre Dame pushed Navy all over the field, controlling the action and opening up the run game. 

*** One of my biggest offensive concerns coming into the game was the play of the interior of the line. Notre Dame had two new starters and the interior struggled against Navy last season. Right guard Rocco Spindler was physical all game long and got excellent movement in the run game. He finished well and worked his feet through contact. Left guard Pat Coogan was solid in the game as well. He had a few snaps with very good movement, but with the exception of giving up a pressure on a touchdown pass, he did his job effectively. Center Zeke Correll also had a physical game and pushed around the Navy nose guards.

*** Hartman was outstanding in the game. He wasn't perfect, but his presence had a big impact on the Irish offense. Hartman was decisive, got the ball to open receivers throughout the game and his ability to manipulate the pocket allowed him to beat the few pressures that Navy was able to get. Hartman getting the ball quickly and accurately to his wideouts on the perimeter is a big reason why the screen game was so effective. Hartman also attacked on all three levels of the defense, beating Navy short and deep, and he worked in a few intermediate completions as well.

*** Hartman didn't see a flat defender that almost picked off a second quarter pass, and he was late getting the ball to Tobias Merriweather on a play-action pass in the end zone, which allowed the defender to break up the pass. Those were just a couple of the very few mistakes he made, but hard to find too much bad to say about a performance where the QB completes 19-24 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns.

*** Notre Dame showed off its impressively talented backfield in this game. Starter Audric Estime got off to a red hot start but he failed to get the ball in his outside arm on a first quarter run and the ball was knocked loose. He didn't carry the ball again until the third quarter, and he picked up where he left off. This was an issue for Estime last season, so it was good to see the staff make an early statement about protecting the ball. Outside of that Estime had a strong performance that included 95 rushing yards and 26 receiving yards.

*** Sophomore Gi'Bran Payne grinded out tough yards in the game, showing good decisiveness and impressive agility. Sophomore Jadarian Price and freshman Jeremiyah Love were also impressive. Price's first touch went for a 19-yard touchdown run on a Duo call. Price showed explosiveness and made good reads. Love showed big play ability as well, but not how I expected. His long run came thanks to him being physical and running through arm tackles.

*** Notre Dame is loaded at running back.

*** At some point we have to start working with the assumption that Deion Colzie just isn't a practice player. He played well against Navy, making two tough early grabs on out cuts and then scoring a 25-yard touchdown on a perimeter screen where he made a defender miss before racing to the end zone. Classmate Jayden Thomas was also very good in the game, working the RPO game effectively and executing an outstanding corner-post route to get free for a late second quarter touchdown. Thomas also blocked well from what I saw in the game.

*** Notre Dame's slot position was highly productive in the game. Senior Chris Tyree caught three passes for 36 yards and also drew a pass interference penalty that set up a second quarter touchdown. He worked the zones effectively and caught an In route for a 20-yard gain to set up the final score. The other slot - freshman Jaden Greathouse - made a big time first impression on the college football world. Greathouse ran a good post route to score a 35-yard touchdown on his first career catch. He showed savviness on his second touchdown, breaking free deep on a scramble play and getting free for a wide open touchdown.

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