In this season’s edition of the Shamrock Series, Notre Dame (2-2) took on the 16th-ranked BYU Cougars in Las Vegas, Nevada. In the series decade-plus history, BYU offered the toughest competition to date. However, Notre Dame extended their undefeated streak to 11-0 in the series with a 28-20 victory.
Shamrock Series: Highlights
The final score paints a picture of a close game, when in reality, Notre Dame dominated BYU on both sides of the ball in this Shamrock Series Showdown! OC Rees continued sticking to the game plan that’s worked in their last two victories. This consists of handing the ball to his Cerberus of running-backs and getting the ball in Michael Mayer’s hands.
MICHAEL MAYER. NOTRE DAME’S ALL TIME RECEPTIONS LEADER BY A TIGHT END ☘️☘️ pic.twitter.com/IwEWqET4zF
— Barstool Irish (@BarstoolIrish) October 9, 2022
Notre Dame’s running-backs carried the ball a total of 42 times and ran for 232 yards. In addition, added 6 catches for 40 yards. Michael Mayer had a massive line: 11 catches, 118 yards receiving and two touchdowns; the first of which, locked him for most career receptions by a tight-end at Notre Dame.
Audric Estime is a ⭐ for the Irish! 🍀 pic.twitter.com/D0V5v7vuJg
— Sports Talk Drew ➐ (@SportsTalkDrew) October 9, 2022
We continue to see an ascension from Audric Estime whether it’s powering through would-be tacklers, hurdling defenders or showing mind-boggling speed in open field. Estime continues to lead this backfield and continue to be a pillar of Notre Dame’s recent success.
Big Play @AudricEstime 🚂💪🏿❗️ pic.twitter.com/oZFGegmcyz
— Terrence Fedé (@T_Fede) October 9, 2022
The Notre Dame offense overwhelmed BYU for the majority of the game and wore down their defense as they had the ball over twice as long with almost 41 minutes and running 74 plays.
On the other side of the ball, Notre Dame’s defense played lights out against a budding-Jaren Hall. They held Hall to 9 completions for 120 yards, a pair of touchdowns and an interception. This defense, also, managed a safety after a fourth down stop by BYU, one play previously.
🚨NOTRE DAME SAFETY!!🚨 pic.twitter.com/c0RggDk0NE
— 𝗙𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗢𝗪 @𝗙𝗧𝗕𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱𝟳 (@FTBeard7) October 9, 2022
This defensive play hadn’t been seen to this effect since week 1 vs Ohio St. If they can continue to play at this level, they’ll be a tough opponent moving forward!
Shamrock Series: Room for Improvement
The Irish victory wasn’t perfect, there were many spots for improvement. While the subsequent play ended in a safety, with the Irish in the redzone, they must convert crucial 4th down plays. With stronger opponents to follow, this facet of the offense will be critical.
Continuing, given that Notre Dame’s first possession came on the heels of an interception – they must strike quickly to put their opponents in catch-up mode early and force the offense into further mistakes. The first drive ended in a field goal, which is okay, but this will not do against Clemson and Syracuse.
As noted, the BYU offense had the ball for less than 20 minutes, but managed 20 points. This is attributed to the defense giving up big plays for touchdowns. Again, against tougher teams this will simply not cut it – the defense must limit these mistakes to avoid potential shootouts.
Shamrock Series: Final Thoughts
After the bye, the Shamrock series was certainly entertaining to say the least! I’m very proud of the performances Notre Dame continues to display.
Next up, Notre Dame has considerably easier matchups in Stanford (1-4) and UNLV (4-2). That said, Syracuse and Clemson are lurking just around the corner – I’d love for the Irish to clean up their mistakes and make quick work of their next opponents in preparation of stiff competition!
Until next time, Notre Dame Family remember to Play Like a Champion! If you like my content, please shoot me a follow me on Twitter at @KingpettyFFB!
For a breakdown on BYU’s performance in the Shamrock Series Showdown check out Tyla-Ann’s most recent article!
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