Notre Dame didn’t have the fastest of starts on their 2023 senior day but at the end of the afternoon it was enough for a 45-7 victory over Wake Forest to move to 8-3 on the season.
All that remains for Notre Dame this regular season is a trip west to Stanford next weekend to close the year and hopefully secure their ninth win of the season for the second-straight year.
What went well in Notre Dame’s blowout victory of Wake Forest on Saturday?
And what didn’t exactly click for the Fighting Irish?
Here are our instant takeaways from the senior day victory.
Hartman, Irish overcome slow offensive start
Senior days are always a little bit weird and as has largely been the case this season, Notre Dame’s offense was slow to go early on. They wound up with 17 first half points but a 2-of-6 start by Sam Hartman was hardly inspiring but he bounced back to have a solid day in his final regular season home game. Also troubling was Notre Dame’s final offensive drive before halftime where a lesson in how not to manage the clock as they made countless mistakes.
It wasn’t a pretty start whatsoever, but it was still a dominating win against an inferior foe. Hartman finished the day 21-29 passing for 277-yards and four touchdowns.
Wide Receiver Streak Ends!
For the first time since New Year’s Day 2022, Notre Dame had a wide receiver haul in 100-yards receiving. That happened as freshman Rico Flores had a stellar showing, catching eight passes for 102-yards. The 2022 Fiesta Bowl, Marcus Freeman’s first game as Notre Dame head coach, was the last time a Fighting Irish wide receiver went for over 100 yards (Kevin Austin and Lorenzo Styles both did).
Flores pulling in eight receptions gave him 25 for the year, the most by a true freshman at Notre Dame since at least 2010.
Defense Dominant Again
The @NDFootball defense held its…
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