Notre Dame Football Routs Rice: What Went Right and Wrong

As expected, Notre Dame didn't have much trouble with Rice on Saturday, routing the Owls 52-0. It was a game that Marcus Freeman and company could have picked a number in, with starting quarterback CJ Carr only playing one possession in the second half.

Saturday was an overwhelming success for Freeman and the Fighting Irish, but it was still far from perfect.

What did Notre Dame do well on Saturday afternoon?

And where does it still need a good amount of work?

Some answers to both as the book closes on Week 2 of the college football season.

Good: Defensive Domination

Whether it was five forced fumbles, four of which wound up being recovered by Notre Dame, or Rice not gaining more than 20 yards on a single possession in the first half. Notre Dame has an insane amount of talent compared to what Rice offers, but that talent was on display.

There have been cases in recent years that teams like Marshall and Northern Illinois have not let Notre Dame's talent advantages matter. That wasn't the case whatsoever on Saturday.

Good: Downfield Passing Opens Up

CJ Carr had a massive day, throwing for 253 yards and four touchdowns, while also having only have four incompletions all afternoon.

Notre Dame pushed the ball downfield regularly on Saturday and had great success doing so, as Carr wound up averaging 12.7 yards per drop back. His two best throws of the day were on deep balls to Jaden Greathouse and on an improved scramble throw to Micah Gilbert.

Bad: Running Game Woes

The Notre Dame passing game was great, but the running game left plenty to be desired. Despite being more talented and the passing game being unstoppable, the running game struggled to get going really at any point, despite Nolan James, Jr. rushing for a pair of scores.

Notre Dame averaged just 3.7 yards per carry on 32 attempts. Through two weeks, Notre Dame doesn't have a rush of more than 16 yards - a major change compared to the last few seasons.

Good: Kicking Game Continues to Shine

Seeing Notre Dame have an actual kicking game is a sight to behold. After the struggles the team has had in kicking a basic field goal in recent years, Spencer Porath was money again on Saturday.

Porath's field goal was only 36 yards on Saturday, but he still got the job done and deserves praise. He also hit all seven extra point attempts, another thing Notre Dame had major issues with all of last season.

Good: Notre Dame Depth on Display

Notre Dame entered the game with an injury to All-American candidate Brauntae Johnson in the secondary, and was able to have Luke Talich see more reps and produce, being among Notre Dame's leading tacklers in the first half.

Elsewhere, younger players in the wide receiver room were able to get a lot of run and make a few catches in the rout.

Saturday is the kind of game you schedule to get a win and get experience for some of your younger players and Notre Dame successfully pulled that off and saw some impressive perofrmances down the depth chart.

Add us as a preferred source on Google