3 reasons why Notre Dame defeated Temple, 49-16

3 reasons why Notre Dame defeated Temple, 49-16 

QB Brandon Wimbush discusses preparing for his first start at Notre Dame. Laken Litman / IndyStar Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush (7) throws in the second quarter against the Temple Owls at Notre Dame Stadium.(Photo: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports) SOUTH BEND – Notre Dame football tallied a 49-16 win over visiting Temple on Saturday to open the season. Here are three reasons the Irish won. 1. That incredibly quick start It was the fastest offensive score in a Notre Dame opener since at least 1963. After the kick return started them at their own 30-yard line, Brandon Wimbush hit Equanimeous St. Brown for a 33-yard pickup. Next play: Josh Adams ran 37 yards untouched behind the stacked left side of Notre Dame's offensive line. It was 7-0 after 33 seconds, and the Irish piled on through most of the first half. Four of their first five drives resulted in a touchdown as Adams racked up 130 yards — marking his ninth career 100-yard game — by halftime. Chip Long's offense was efficient, with mixed chunk plays and short, timing passes that helped Wimbush restart after the offense picked up 12 yards on its second drive. The Irish's 422 rushing yards were the most in a season opener since at least 1999. The entire stable of backs got it done. Adams led the way with 161 yards, while Dexter Williams added 124 and Tony Jones Jr. added another 19. Autoplay Show Thumbnails Show Captions Last SlideNext Slide 2. Brandon Wimbush did it both ways, and got help The quarterback's first start was a bit of a tune up for next week, when Notre Dame hosts Georgia. He used it as well as he could have. Wimbush made plays with his legs in the open field (106 yards, 1 TD rushing), threw a bomb off his back foot to St. Brown early that set up a touchdown and checked down to tight ends when he needed to. Head coach Brian Kelly said this year's receiving corps would do it by committee. After eight players caught at least one pass and a trio caught at least three, that assessment seems fair. Mistakes were rare for Wimbush, but his interception in the third quarter is not to be overlooked. He was confident in delivering a 25-yard pass, but it floated on him and Temple returned it inside the 20-yard line. The defense had his back, though, and didn't give up any points despite the tough field position. The good news for Notre Dame? He bounced back. Kelly wanted to see that. "He’s made some mistakes in camp, but he can put them behind him and move to the next play," Kelly said recenlty. "He’s going to have that in the first couple of weeks and I’m OK with that.” Temple didn't record a sack until the fourth quarter, when it quickly recorded two. The offensive line looked solid up to that point, and Wimbush showed an ability to evade tacklers with speed and shrug them with strength. IndyStar Notre Dame reporter Laken Litman previews the upcoming season and how the Irish's offense and defense will be different under new coordinators. Matthew Glenesk / IndyStar 3. The defense proved opportunistic There were definite flaws in the Notre Dame defense. It gave up big plays and struggled to slow down Temple running back Ryquell Armstead, who would have received more carries if the score wasn't so lopsided from the beginning. The secondary, multiple times, left receivers uncovered who simply missed receptions. One that stood out was in the first quarter, one play after Julian Okwara tallied the game's first sack. A receiver dropped a pass in the red zone that killed Temple's momentum. But there were bright spots, too. The Irish racked up 11 tackles for loss, three sacks and a forced fumble in the fourth quarter that set the offense up at the Temple nine-yard line. Daelin Hayes was again active in the backfield, with a sack and four total tackles. One of the biggest plays of the game was by Te'Von Coney, who caused a loss of 10 yards with a sack to force a Temple field goal. It went wide and erased Wimbush's interception. Find IndyStar reporter Dakota Crawford on Twitter: @DakotaCrawford_.


Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons the Irish will defeat Temple 

Use your ← → (arrows) to browse Head coach Brian Kelly needs a better season in 2017. Kelly admitted that he did not do the best he could for the program in 2016. He does have the pieces to get Notre Dame back where they belong in the top 25. How he pieces the puzzle together ultimately determines ND’s success this year. With the departure of star quarterback DeShone Kizer, it’s now time for Brandon Wimbush to step up. Running back Josh Adams could be the best player on the Notre Dame offense. Wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown might also stake a claim for that title. The offensive line is led by potential first round NFL Draft pick Mike McGlinchey. Even tight end Durham Smythe is a talented option for Wimbush to throw to. Temple has been good over the past few seasons. However, they did lose their head coach that brought them success when Matt Rhule left for Baylor. The Owls have two consecutive favorable games against Villanova and UMass after their matchup with the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame has the chance to build some early season confidence against a solid Group of Five program. They face No. 15 Georgia next week. With sophomore quarterback Jacob Eason leading UGA’s offense, it will be a tall task for Notre Dame to defeat the Dawgs. For now, Notre Dame needs to focus on defeating Temple. The Owls won 10 games in each of the last two seasons. They have significantly improved in each of those seasons. Here are three reasons Notre Dame will beats Temple in Week 1. Use your ← → (arrows) to browse


Temple sees wheels fall off at Notre Dame in Geoff Collins' debut 

Temple at Notre DameNotre Dame Stadium, South Bend, IndianaSaturday, 3:30 p.m., NBC And so, the Geoff Collins era at Temple officially begins. And it begins under one of the brightest spotlights in college football — a nationally televised showdown at Notre Dame. Collins, who spent the last two years as defensive coordinator at Florida and the previous four seasons in the same position at Mississippi State, gets his first chance to show what he can do at the helm of a talented, but inexperienced Temple team that lost so much – its beloved head coach and most of his staff, a four-year starter at quarterback, a star running back and seven starters from a tenacious defense. Needless to say, there are plenty questions his team will have to answer if it wants to leave South Bend with the upset win on Saturday. Ironically, Matt Rhule also made his coaching debut at Notre Dame, when Temple suffered a 28-6 loss in 2013. On the other sideline stands Brian Kelly, whose seat is as sweltering as its ever been in the Notre Dame pressure cooker after the Fighting Irish crumbled last season to an incredibly disappointing 4-8 record. Kelly has always been an excellent recruiter and has tremendous talent on his squad, but when you’re the head coach at Notre Dame, talent doesn’t mean everything. Wins do. And he’s going to need those this season, with the first chance at one coming Saturday. Let’s look more closely at where both teams stand before Saturday’s season opener: Scouting TempleYep, all the fingers are still pointing at the quarterback spot, where Collins isn’t publicly naming a starter to replace the now-graduated Phillip Walker prior to kickoff. It’s been a four-pronged race during camp between redshirt junior Frank Nutile, redshirt sophomore Logan Marchi, redshirt freshman Anthony Russo and true freshman Todd Centeio. Those four have combined for five receptions, 69 yards and a single touchdown in their careers. No pressure at Notre Dame, right, guys? Collins has said he knows who will take the first snap, but odds are he will use more than one quarterback depending on the situation and field position. The guess here is Nutile, a pro-style QB and most experienced of the bunch, will get the first snap while Marchi will also see time. Don’t be surprised to see packages for Centeio, either, as he’s been a revelation during spring ball and camp. Junior Ryquell Armstead is back for Temple and he no doubt will be the Owls’ lead tailback this season. With the inexperience at QB and new offensive coordinator Dave Patenaude’s affinity for running the ball, Armstead could well be the Owls’ most important player on the offensive side of the ledger. Even with star Jahad Thomas in front of him, Armstead led the Owls with 14 rushing TDs last season. He also had 919 total yards on the ground. Perhaps Temple’s deepest position this season is on the outside at wide receiver where senior Keith Kirkwood, senior Adonis Jennings and junior Ventell Bryant give the Owls an experienced, talented trio to lean on. Those three combined last season for 2,017 yards on 123 grabs, including 12 TDs. Bryant led the way with 54 receptions and 895 yards. All three scored four times apiece. New defensive coordinator Taver Johnson, formerly the defensive backs coach at Purdue, is tasked with molding a new-look Temple defense that must replace seven starters from a unit that was third in the entire nation last season in total defense with 282.5 yards allowed per game. Senior safety Sean Chandler is back as the unquestioned leader of the group. “Champ,” as he is referred to by coaches and teammates, had two picks last season and has seven in his collegiate career. The Owls must replace the entire starting linebacker unit, a group Collins has said will remain fluid. On the defensive line, there is experience on the end with seniors Jacob Martin and Sharif Finch and the tackle spot features youthful talent that could wind up being a strength. Scouting Notre DameAfter the Irish floundered last season, Kelly thought it was time for a change and brought in former Memphis offensive coordinator Chip Long to fill the same role in South Bend. And Long’s tenure begins with 6-foot-1 junior Brandon Wimbush behind center to replace now-Cleveland Browns starter DeShone Kizer. Wimbush last season sat behind both Kizer and Malik Zaire, the later of whom has transferred to Florida. A four-star recruit out of Jersey City, New Jersey, Wimbush will be making his first career start on Saturday. He has five career passing attempts, all of which came as a true freshman in 2015 vs. UMass. Wimbush will be protected by 6-foot-8, 315-pound senior left tackle Mike McGlinchey, a Penn Charter High School product and legitimate first-round NFL prospect. Junior tailback Josh Adams returns to lead the Irish’s rushing attack. He led Notre Dame with 933 yards on the ground last season. He’s the only RB in program history with at least 800 yards rushing in each of his first two seasons. He’s also a weapon in the passing game, as he had 21 grabs last year for 193 yards and a TD. Junior Equanimeous St. Brown is a star on the outside for the Irish. The 6-foot-5, 203-pounder nabbed 58 balls for 961 yards and nine TDs last season. He can take over a game. Temple’s secondary, especially corners Artrel Foster and Mike Jones, will have its hands full. Kelly also cleaned house on the defensive side of the ball and brought in Mike Elko, formerly of Wake Forest, to run the Irish’s defensive ship. Notre Dame ranked 42nd in the nation last season in total defense with 378.8 yards allowed per game, but was 61st with 27.9 points allowed per game. Where the Irish really struggled last year was against the run, allowing 182.42 yards per game on the ground, just 72nd in the nation. Middle linebacker Nyles Morgan is a player to keep an eye on. The senior and team captain led Notre Dame with 94 tackles last season, including four games of double-digit stops. HistorySaturday will mark the third all-time meeting between the Owls and the Fighting Irish, a series in which the Irish own a 2-0 record. The first came back in the 2013 season opener at Notre Dame Stadium, when the Irish pulled away with a 28-6 victory in Rhule’s first game as Temple’s head coach. The Owls would go on to endure a 2-10 season from hell that year. You probably remember the second meeting more vividly. It came on Halloween night in 2015 when the No. 9 Fighting Irish visited Lincoln Financial Field and held off a valiant upset effort by the upstart No. 21 Owls, 24-20, in front of a national television audience just hours after ESPN’s College Gameday descended upon Philadelphia and Independence Hall for a Temple game for the first time. It was arguably the biggest game in Temple history and, despite the loss, it gave the Temple program a sense of legitimacy in the national eye for the first time in what felt like forever. Storyline to watch: Seriously, though … how’s this QB thing going to work?Duh. Of course this is the storyline to watch. The fact that Temple’s QB situation is still this unsettled just hours before kick off can’t help but give some sort of legitimate pause. Is a multi-QB system really the best option for the Owls right now? Or is it necessary because no one truly won the job in the eyes of Collins and his staff during the summer? How this all shakes down will be of utmost importance not just this week, but in the coming weeks, too. But it’s magnified because it’s the first game of a new era, it’s total change considering the stability of Walker over the last four seasons and the spotlight is always brighter at Notre Dame. If Collins really does use multiple QBs, could one play well enough Saturday to finally earn the true starter’s crown? Possibly. Either way, it’s a question that will need an answer soon. PredictionThere are just so many questions surrounding the Owls right now. And that’s through no fault of their own. It’s just what naturally happens when there’s so much sudden change, especially with a new coaching staff coming in and laying out its own blueprints. And there are questions about the Irish, too, considering how they continually stumbled and fell face-first over and over again last season. That said, there is still more stability within the Irish right now. The Owls will keep showing that grit they’ve been known for in recent years, but there will just be too much of Notre Dame to deal with. Notre Dame 27, Temple 13