Notre Dame Players of the Game: Central Michigan Edition

Notre Dame improved to 4-0 with a 41-17 victory over Central Michigan. It marked the first time since 1900 that Notre Dame started a season with four straight 40+ point scoring games. It wasn't always pretty, but the Fighting Irish got the job done.

There were several standouts on both sides of the ball, but there were three players that stood above the rest. Here are the players of the game from the Notre Dame victory over CMU.

OFFENSE - Audric Estime, Running Back

Stats: 20 carries, 176 yards, 8.8 YPC, 1 TD
Runners Up: QB Sam Hartman, WR Tobias Merriweather

Running back Audric Estime gets the player of the game honors for two reasons, and the first is he was outstanding in the win, especially in the second half. Estime had just 7 carries for 46 yards in the first half (all of which came in the first quarter), but he broke the game open in the second half, ripping off 130 yards on 13 carries. Estime also had a 72-yard touchdown run called back by a holding call in the second quarter.

Estime was decisive as a runner, he ran with authority and he made great decisions. Estime's ability to quickly make good reasons on the Power runs was especially effective in this victory. As the line started to wear CMU down, Estime took the game over, rushing for 92 yards on 6 carries in the fourth quarter. The Irish back also handled his business well in pass protection

The second reason Estime gets the player of the game is how his presence impacted the rest of the offense. CMU was focused on slowing down Estime and the run game, which is why the wide receivers were able to get so many one-on-ones, which helped the Irish rip off 330 passing yards in the game. Quarterback Sam Hartman made some great throws and wide receivers like Tobias Merriweather, Chris Tyree, Jayden Thomas and Rico Flores Jr. made big plays, but those big plays were made a bit easier when the defense so focused on trying to contain Estime.

DEFENSE - Javontae Jean-Baptiste, D-End - Thomas Harper, Nickel

Jean-Baptiste Stats: 3 tackles, 1 TFL, 3 QB hurries
Harper Stats: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 QB hurry
Runners Up: CB Cam Hart, DT Rylie Mills, DT Jason Onye

A pair of transfers were my top standouts on defense. Defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste has been a pleasant surprise for Notre Dame this season, and he was one of the best players on the Irish defense against CMU. Jean-Baptiste had arguably his best pass rushing game, leading the Irish with three "official" quarterback hurries and he also led the defense with five pressures according to Pro Football Focus.

What has been the biggest surprise about Jean-Baptiste's performance this season is how effective he's been at defending the run, and that continued against the Chippewas. He was solid at the point of attack and was one of the few players to get disruptions against the run game.

Nickel Thomas Harper's day didn't start off well, as he missed a tackle in space on the first snap of the game. After that, however, Harper settled in and played very good football. He was strong in coverage, he was once again very disruptive against the perimeter screen game and he had multiple strong edge pressures on blitzes. His big play was a second quarter edge rush where he drilled quarterback Jase Bauer for the sack, and the hit sent the ball flying into the air.

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