Notre Dame football found a way once again against a Big 10 foe
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SOUTH BEND — This was supposed to be one of those games and those nights for No. 3 Notre Dame football where you could pay more attention to what was happening above Notre Dame Stadium than anything down on the FieldTurf.
Keep an eye to the skies for the expected severe weather. Maybe some lightning. Thunder. Hide your eyes as Notre Dame (3-0) hosted a seemingly overmatched Big Ten opponent that arrived a four-touchdown underdog. At least, that’s how it was supposed to go.
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This one had a familiar feel, and not in the best of ways for Notre Dame. Halfway through, this one against Michigan State felt like that one 13 days against Wisconsin in Green Bay.
A 17-10 Irish lead at intermission on Saturday turned into a 27-10 Irish win. An OK Irish team those first two quarters. An awesome Irish team that last two.
It was a one-score game with the Spartans driving heading into the fourth quarter. No one Irish saw that coming.
Love the aggressiveness of head coach Marcus Freeman and his penchant to go for it at times when maybe the Irish shouldn’t go for it, but his decision late in the first quarter backfired and gave some need life to the other guys.
Faced with a fourth and 13 from his own 39-yard line, Freeman green-lit a reverse fake punt that put the ball in the hands of freshman receiver Brayden Robinson – for the first time this season. The 5-foot-7, 165-pound Robinson gained 11 yards to turn it over on downs.
Eleven plays later, Michigan State was on the board with a field goal. Late in the second quarter, the Spartans were in the end zone. They had something that they didn’t have before that fake punt.
Swagger. A belief that they were in this one. It was 17-10 Irish at half, but it felt a lot closer. It was too easy for Notre Dame the previous time out against Rice, when the Irish led 7-0 less than 20 seconds in. This wasn’t Rice. This was Big Ten football against a proud program.
Freeman wouldn’t have to wait until watching the film later that night – really, that morning – to want that call back. It wasn’t the right one at the right moment, something Freeman has a knack of doing. And calling.
This one looked like it would go the way of Rice after CJ Carr hit Micah Gilbert with a 61-yard pass on the game’s first play from scrimmage. From excellence to angst as the Irish run game continued to sputter early, gaining seven yards on five rushes early. It got going a little bit as the half wore on, but nowhere near where it needs to be.
At least the Irish have Nolan James, Jr., who may just be RB1 for his work – and workload – in a key third-quarter scoring drive.
That first half felt weird for myriad reasons. That fake punt. The waiting on rain that finally arrived with eight minutes before halftime. A second quarter that seemed to drag for days. Then a security alert that there was an active shooter situation at Eddy Street Commons, an off-campus dining and shopping district just south of the stadium.
The off-campus situation was seemingly resolved – it still was an active crime scene through the second half after two people were shot - but the Spartans were another matter. Give a seemingly overmatched team that struggled in its first two games against Mid-American Conference schools and weird stuff could happen. Maybe should happen.
For the second time in three weeks, this was a bare-knuckle Big Ten kind of a game played so often in October and November. Just like the opener.
Notre Dame found its footing that night in Green Bay. It eventually found it again Saturday. At home. In the rain. In the weird.
Maybe weird is the new normal for this Notre Dame. Weird works.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football found a way once again against a Big 10 foe