Notre Dame Football: Three Things from Boston College - R.T.D.B.!

1. RTDB!

I’ve been here at OFD for just over a year now, and one thing that has a common theme across this site and the comment section is the acronym “R.T.D.B.” If you’re new here it stands for RUN THE DAMN BALL. If one thing is clear from Notre Dame’s thrashing of the Boston College Eagles, it is the Irish need to heed to these four words. For a while there in the first half I was there yelling at my TV screen “RUN THE DAMN BALL!” The only plays that were working were runs, and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish kept going to air. Finally they heard my pleas and for a lack of a phrase, started ramming it down BC’s throat.

The Irish ran for 515 yards on 51 carries, setting a program record for yards per carry at 10.1. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush rushed for 207 yards and four touchdowns, both records for Irish quarterbacks. Lead back Josh Adams ran for 229 yards, including two 65 yarders and Dexter Williams chipped in with 6 carries for 50 yards. Those are some eye popping stats, and while its unrealistic to expect that each game it definitely shows where the strength of the Irish offense is...at least while Wimbush shows his inefficiencies in the passing game. Which brings me to my next point...

2. The Passing Game...ugh

Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Aside from the rushing attack, the only other thing clear about the ND offense is their lack of ability to throw the ball. Wimbush definitely has the arm. No question about that. But it seems he hasn’t been able to harness that rocket for an arm yet. Too many throws are over receivers heads or too many throws have been lasers, when they need to have some touch on them. I’m not going to worry about Wimbush just yet, but if he’s still doing this two or three weeks from now...then it’s something to panic about.

This isn’t all on Wimbush either. His receivers haven’t helped him out either with catching passes and getting separation on corners.

3. This Defense Is Something To Be Excited About

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Three games in and the Irish defense has looked much improved. Gone is the poor tackling. Gone are the big plays. Gone are the long scoring drives. Now, they’re forcing turnovers, getting off the field on third down and making fourth down stops. From top to bottom it is a better product. They still haven’t been truly tested against a top tier offense, but when that test comes Irish fans should be confident the defense will rise to the occasion.

Te’Von Coney had a huge day as he racked up 13 tackles. Greer Martini had nine tackles, including one for loss. Nyles Morgan and Jerry Tillery has seven tackles a piece. Shaun Crawford was a playmaker on Saturday as he had two interceptions and a fumble recovery.