Notre Dame Week 2 Recap: Freshman Shines for Fighting Irish

Yes, Week 2 was an epic disaster that changed the trajectory of Notre Dame's season. But not everyone played poorly in the Northern Illinois loss.

Notre Dame linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (27) at Notre Dame spring football practice Thursday, March 7, 2024, at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend. / GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK

There's no sugarcoating the magnitude of losing to Northern Illinois at home as a four-touchdown favorite. It was a colossal stumble just one week after the big win over Texas A&M that seemingly put the Irish in a great position to roll into the playoffs. Now? Well, most of ND's margin for error evaporated when Mitch Jeter's 62-yard field goal attempt was blocked.

Week 2 was historically bad for the Irish, but that doesn't mean everyone played poorly. These were ND's top performers of the Northern Illinois game.

3. LB Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa

Viliamu-Asa is already showing strong hints why he was one of the most coveted defensive players of the 2024 recruiting cycle. Coming off the bench, the true freshman was terrific in space against the run. Despite playing only 26 snaps, Viliamu-Asa made seven stops and a half-tackle for loss. It's a harbinger of things to come for No. 27.

2. RB Jeremiyah Love

The Irish offense clearly has issues. Love is not one of them. For the second consecutive week, the sophomore from St. Louis performed like a feature back, without getting much support from the passing game. Love ran 11 times for 79 yards and a highlight-reel hurdle that resulted in a long touchdown.

Love is in the air#GoIrish☘️ | @JeremiyahLove pic.twitter.com/dZM9KE87DN

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 7, 2024

1. S Xavier Watts

Watts continues to raise the bar while playing with a high level of consistency against the run and the pass. He led the Irish with eight tackles, including six solo stops. Watts also earned PFF's highest overall grade (74.0) among all starters and the top mark for tackling.

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