Four elements that defined Notre Dame’s opener; one unique stat, one thing to pivot forward
By John Brice
Special Contributor
COLUMBUS, OHIO – Notre Dame had possession, saw Tyler Buchner connect with Braden Lenzy for a chunk play that covered 32 yards out near midfield and seemingly had positioned itself to potentially take back a fourth-quarter lead against host and second-ranked Ohio State here Saturday night in front of 106,594 inside Ohio Stadium.
The drive unraveled on an offensive penalty, Notre Dame’s only flag of the second half, but the 21-10 loss saw the Notre Dame offense largely execute its precise plan through nearly three quarters and its first-year defense under first-year coordinator Al Golden largely contain the explosive Buckeyes until they sealed the game with a fourth-quarter touchdown.
In an item we’ll bring you after each Notre Dame contest, here’s the 4-1-1 on No. 5 Notre Dame’s regular-season opener of the Marcus Freeman era
FOUR ELEMENTS THAT DEFINED THE SEASON OPENER
- Field position bottled up the Notre Dame offense. The Fighting Irish were forced to begin six of their 10 possessions at or inside their own 15-yard line. They actually turned two of those drives into their only scores, with Blake Grupe opening the game with a 33-yard field goal and Audric Estime polishing off an 10-play, 87-yard drive that vaulted Notre Dame on top, 10-7. It was a lead the Irish maintained for more than 26 minutes across the second and third quarters.
- Notre Dame opened the 2022 season with a lost coin toss, a first possession – and got points on its very first series to truly kick off the Marcus Freeman. The drive extinguished just five snaps, but perhaps none was bigger than the catch of the Fighting Irish’s oft-forgotten graduate wideout, Matt Salerno.
It was Salerno, who earlier this year was celebrated by his coaches and teammates after he was awarded a scholarship to end his long-running walk-on status, gathered a juggling, 31-yard reception that set up the Irish’s first points – Blake Grupe’s 33-yard field goal.
“I was juiced,” Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner said. “Matt Salerno, former walk-on, he’s a stud on our team. One of our best receivers, guy made a huge play. It was huge on the scoring drive.”
- Time of possession flip-flopped in the second half. The Irish had a brilliant game plan, really on both sides of the ball, but it was their offensive execution throughout the opening half that allowed them to own a more than three-minute edge in ball control, 16 minutes, 35 seconds to the Buckeyes’ 13:25.
But in the second half, OSU repeatedly found ways to extend drives late in the third quarter and all throughout the fourth quarter. The result? Notre Dame had just more than 10 minutes’ possession across the game’s final 30 minutes and snapped just 20 second-half plays; the Buckeyes had 41 offensive snaps combined in the third and fourth quarters.
- Notre Dame had four penalties in the game’s opening quarter – and then it was penalized just once the remainder of the game. It showed the Irish’s ability to settle in, listen to their coaches and follow the game plan to just play football.
ONE THING TO NOTE
Ohio State’s offense under Ryan Day consistently has been among college football’s most explosive, but it was stymied to a record level by Al Golden’s Irish defense in the first half.
The Buckeyes’ seven points were their lowest output in an opening half in Day’s entire career, which marked its 39th game in the opener against Notre Dame. OSU’s 21 total points in the game stand as the second-fewest of the Day era.
ONE THING PIVOTING FORWARD
Notre Dame didn’t commit a single turnover in the game – despite a raucous, near-record Ohio Stadium crowd of more than 106,000 seeking to torment the first-time starter Buchner and the rest of the Irish offense.
Moreover, the Irish saw their two new specialists – Grupe and punter Jon Sot – perform almost flawlessly. Grupe hit his only field-goal attempt and Sot averaged 46.2 yards per punt and dropped three of his six kicks inside the 20-yard line.