3 Things From Notre Dame’s 42-13 Victory over Florida State

SemiNOles...am I right?!

That felt amazingly good to have the Notre Dame Fighting Irish steamroll over the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday night. After some recent memory, it felt good to have the other side of the coin show for a while (well, well, well, how the turntables...). It seems like we expected that game to happen that way, and then some more happened as well. Let’s take a look back at these happenings that got the Irish to 10-0.

3 Things from the ND-FSU Game

Let’s give it up for Brandon Wimbush.

Seriously, Brandon Wimbush is the man. He has so much controversy surrounding his QB job and his being older, but he showed actions speak louder than words. He came into the game to start and was called upon in a time of need. Boy, did he deliver! He absolutey exceeded my expectations for him on Saturday. Yes, I know he still had about a 50% completion rate and the 2 INTs, but he was outstanding in what was needed to be done. He created plays both with his arm and feet. I mean, 3 TD passes, and 2 of them where he placed it very well to make Alize Mack have 2 circus catches. Brandon did more than enough to win the game, and that is what was asked of him.

He is just an incredible human being, and he is a talented football player. Clearly he is not able to have the Irish’s starting job, but he is about the best backup QB you ever could have. He has poise, and his maturity is out of this world given the season and Ian Book’s success. He understands the team mentality. We thank you, Brandon.

I didn’t realize how bad Florida State actually was.

Let me start off by saying that the game on Saturday night for me was even more revenge for 2003 instead of 2014. In 2003, the Irish were so bad (thanks, Ty), and Florida State came into Notre Dame Stadium in November and trounced us 37-0. The Irish were disheveled, to put it lightly. And that is the word I would use to describe the Seminoles this season too: disheveled. I saw a team that is driving the struggle RV this season. They used all three of their first half timeouts by the beginning of the second quarter. They had little to no motivation to move the ball on offense. Granted, they probably did not want to play in that weather, but I was surprised by the overall lack of fight they had. The have talent on their team, and this is probably an overall morale thing. It was strange to witness. Hilarious, but strange.

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This game performance by the Irish was very much needed.

In my last point, I want to make sure I don’t diminish what the Irish have done on Saturday and in this season. Yes, they played and beat a bad team. However, the performance was one everyone needed: a blowout at home on Senior Night. Wimbush backed up Book beautifully on his (academic) senior night. Dexter Williams continued to be a savage and rushed for over 200 yards. They won by 29 points. Especially in a time when style points are needed, those were shown on Saturday night. The victory to get to 10-0 and also back to back 10-win seasons (helllloooooo, Brian Kelly haters) was straight up awesome. The team is definitely a sum greater than its parts, and I’m ok with that. They are having fun, and their momentum from Saturday will help on two travel weeks now. I feel more confident about them playing Syracuse and USC to close out the season. I know they won’t be easy, but this “easier” game helped with this November schedule. It’s all good stuff.

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