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Hello, fellow Irish fans! This season I’ll be recapping ND games. Follow along as I parse out the good (because we must celebrate the good), the bad (this fanbase always finds shit to complain about), and the Irish (miscellaneous observations that are ~so~ ND).
The Good
There were a lot of good things in this game. A run game! A pass game! ONLY ONE BLOWN COVERAGE!
The offense
Today was a good day! #GoIrish ☘ pic.twitter.com/Nl9TFlCUCK
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 3, 2017
Things were clicking early for the offense on Saturday. Josh Adams scored the first touchdown of the season, only 33 seconds into the first quarter. From that moment forward, the Irish offense controlled the game. Brandon Wimbush looked comfortable in the pocket, and was able to create some plays on his feet as well.
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As predicted, Notre Dame’s O-line was sharp throughout the game. It helps having Mike McGlinchey and Quenton Nelson back for encore seasons. All in all, the Irish had 606 yards of total offense. Yea, I’ll take it.
Brian Kelly
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We heard a lot of the “Brian Kelly has changed” narrative this weekend. Sounds like BK has been listening to T-Swift. Only time will tell if the kinder, softer, more laid-back Kelly is here to stay. He did seem a lot less purple than previous season openers, though, and that, my friends, is a good thing.
Irish Siblings!
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Julian Okwara recorded his first career sack on Saturday. He’s the younger brother of former Irish DE Romeo Okwara. Cheers to following along in his big brother’s footsteps.
Here’s a photo of the G.O.A.T. and Tom Brady.
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The Bad
We beat Temple by 33 points, what could we possibly have to complain abo — DO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE? WE’RE NOTRE DAME FANS. WE MUST COMPLAIN. COMPLAINING IS THE BLOOD THAT PULSES THROUGH OUR VEINS. NOW LET’S ROAST SOME UNPAID TEENAGERS.
Field Goal Unit
Justin Yoon went 0/2 on field goals Saturday. Not ideal, but to be fair, neither of them was a chip shot (44, 47 yards).
On the bright side, one twitter user compared the Irish to Alabama.
Alabama seems to never have a reliable kicker.....just like Notre Dame
— Mitchell Earley (@mitch1585) September 3, 2017
Oh...errr never mind.
Brian Kelly
It’s fun when you can put the head coach in the good and the bad section. Kelly was still getting roasted on twitter throughout the game, despite the scoreboard. Here are a few classics.
Oh. Brian Kelly isn't calling plays this year? So that's why they're up 18 after one quarter. #NotreDame
— Sean Gallagher (@GallagherRadio) September 2, 2017
Temple needs to beat Notre Dame cause Brian Kelly is just the worst
— will (@Dill_Wodd) September 2, 2017
Brian Kelly Threat Level has been reduced from RADISH to MAGENTA. #NDvsTemple #GoIrish #NotreDameFootball #NotreDame
— 4th and a Mile (@fourthandamile) September 2, 2017
Hey, you win some, you lose some.
The Irish
The biggest storyline this weekend was the updated stadium, and yes, the coveted video board made its debut.
The Video Board
My initial reaction was, “WHY DIDN’T NOTRE DAME HAVE THIS WHILE I WAS STILL A STUDENT?” My secondary reaction was, “HOW HAVE I BEEN WATCHING FOOTBALL GAMES AT THIS STADIUM FOR 20+ YEARS WITHOUT VIDEO REPLAYS?”
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN WE HAVE A VIDEO BOARD pic.twitter.com/OolS4YYM2C
— Jessica Smetana (@jessica_smetana) September 2, 2017
The video board was beautiful and life-changing. It made the looong TV timeouts fly by and allowed fans to get way more pumped up than I’ve ever seen during a home opener against a semi-competitive team on a warm, September afternoon. Better late than never!
Visitor Tunnel
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The best part of the new stadium? Visiting teams now have to run out of this comically narrow tunnel onto the field. The best part about this tunnel? It’s actually a staircase. Don’t trip fellas!
Tom Rees
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You’ll always be Touchdown Tommy to me.
Kizer Watch
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C’mon NBC, Matthias Farley is a safety for the Colts now. Show the man some respect.
Notre Dame's Brian Kelly “thrilled” for DeShone Kizer https://t.co/cJXN9EdPzL pic.twitter.com/AWlHG8ycTH
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) September 4, 2017
Brian Kelly said he was “thrilled” for DeShone to start Week 1 for the Browns. Yes, but thrilled in the way you are thrilled for your ex when you find out they’re engaged to someone younger and hotter (I’m looking at you, Hue.) Anyways, good luck DeShone!
On to Georgia. Go Irish, BEAT DAWGS!