SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 9 Notre Dame’s offense won the game Saturday, but the Irish defense lost moments, whole drives of intervals, to use head coach Marcus Freeman’s preferred units of time measurement.
While Sam Hartman connected on touchdown passes of 75 and 76 yards, the defense missed tackles and assignments and committed costly penalties to allow Central Michigan four gains of 20 yards or more, all of which directly led to Chippewas’ scoring opportunities. Fortunately for Notre Dame (4-0) and the anticipation for next week’s primetime matchup with No. 6 Ohio State (3-0), the Irish offense succeeded more often than its defense failed, thus beating Central Michigan, 41-17.
Those were the dueling Notre Dame storylines. For every time Hartman dropped a deep pass right into a receiver’s stride, the Irish defense committed a personal foul penalty to prolong a Chippewas’ drive, eventually giving up a scoring chance.
“If we don’t beat Notre Dame, we’re a good football team,” Freeman said. “There were times in the first and second half, penalties cost us. If you look at the drives that didn’t end well, there were a lot of self-inflicted wounds.”
If there is tangible evidence the closer-than-expected result was the byproduct of Notre Dame looking ahead to the top-10 matchup next week, it was those penalties. The Irish committed eight in total for 72 yards, but three stood out for the points they eventually allowed.
Sophomore defensive end Joshua Burnham drew a 15-yard roughing the passer personal foul in the first quarter, turning what would have been a 3rd-and-5 into a 1st-and-10, a drive that ended in a touchdown and a tie game.
Senior defensive tackle Rylie Mills notched the same penalty call in the second quarter, turning a 2nd-and-10 into a 1st-and-10 in the red zone, a drive that ended with a missed field goal and the reason for previous paragraphs needing to mention scoring opportunities rather than simply scores.
And then on Central Michigan’s next drive, sophomore cornerback Jaden Mickey was whistled for a questionable pass interference call that gifted the Chippewas first-and-goal on the 2-yard line rather than a 2nd-and-10 at the 11. The result? A touchdown.
“The biggest thing, a lot of the yards we gave up were self-inflicted,” Mills said. “I take that personally. My penalty, I gave up 15 yards. Coach Freeman always speaks, no one is worth 15 yards. Sometimes I get caught up, I’m trying to make a play, I’m trying to get to the quarterback, that’s on me to do better, more focused.”
Notre Dame was without two veteran defensive linchpins in fifth-year linebacker JD Bertrand (concussion) and sixth-year safety DJ Brown (“tight hamstring,” per Freeman), forcing younger players like sophomore linebacker Jaylen Sneed and freshman cornerback Christian Gray into bigger or new roles. When Sneed over-pursued on a run blitz, springing loose a chunk gain, it could partially be ascribed to Bertrand’s absence, the leading Irish tackler for each of the last two seasons. Furthermore, his pre-snap directions and overall calm help set a defensive tone, one that may have become a touch more hectic in that vacuum.
“He’s a vocal leader, he knows what he’s doing on the field,” fifth-year linebacker Jack Kiser said of Bertrand. “That’s very impactful. There’s a reason he wears a ‘C’ on his chest.
“But we knew going into the game we weren’t going to have him, so we were preaching all week that other guys have to step up.”
Perhaps those drives would have still yielded points or at least scoring opportunities, but the Burnham play, in particular, likely kept Central Michigan in business. Mickey’s pass interference turned a situation that probably ends in a field goal into a nearly-assured touchdown. Whether Mickey should have been flagged or not was beyond the point. He was, and it cost Notre Dame.
Those penalties, combined with a bevy of missed tackles, kept the Chippewas in the game far longer than they should have been, but even then, they were nowhere near enough for Central Michigan to hang with Hartman’s accuracy.
“He’s an NFL guy,” sophomore receiver Tobias Merriweather said. “He puts the ball — the difference between college and NFL a lot of times, the quarterback doesn’t give you a choice but to catch it. They throw it on you and it’s going to be there, you have to expect it to be there. That’s what Sam does for us.
“He just lets us make plays, puts the ball on our hands and let’s us do what we do.”
Hartman finished with 330 yards and three touchdowns on 16-of-26 passing. Hitting Merriweather in stride on Notre Dame’s first possession and Chris Tyree over the shoulder early in the second quarter emphasized the wide margin the Irish could afford in the tune-up. Add in junior running back Audric Estimé’s 176 yards and a touchdown on just 20 carries, and Notre Dame could survive those defensive mistakes, furthering the hype around next week’s top-10 tilt.
7:30 ET on NBC, in case you have quickly moved on to wondering. Hartman already has advice for preparations.
"Show up, be early and be rowwwwdy." -- Sam Hartman giving directions to Notre Dame Stadium for next week.
— Douglas Farmer (@D_Farmer) September 16, 2023
Because today was as much about Ohio State as it was about Central Michigan, which is why it felt close for a while -- https://t.co/kj2QJP76xK
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
10:52 — Notre Dame touchdown. Tobias Merriweather 75-yard pass from Sam Hartman. Spencer Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 7, Central Michigan 0. (4 plays, 91 yards, 2:03)
7:22 — Central Michigan touchdown. Myles Bailey 6-yard rush. Tristan Mattson point after good. Notre Dame 7, Central Michigan 7. (6 plays, 65 yards, 3:30)
2:13 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 17-yard rush. Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 14, Central Michigan 7. (11 plays, 75 yards, 5:09)
Second Quarter
14:17 — Notre Dame touchdown. Chris Tyree 76-yard pass from Hartman. Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 21, Central Michigan 7. (3 plays, 87 yards, 1:18)
0:17 — Central Michigan touchdown. Jase Bauer one-yard rush. Mattson point after good. Notre Dame 21, Central Michigan 14. (9 plays, 83 yards, 3:58)
Third Quarter
11:36 — Notre Dame touchdown. Hartman 1-yard rush. Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 28, Central Michigan 14. (7 plays, 74 yards, 3:19)
1:59 — Central Michigan field goal. Mattson 23 yards. Notre Dame 28, Central Michigan 17. (12 plays, 50 yards, 5:37)
0:30 — Notre Dame field goal. Shrader 50 yards. Notre Dame 31, Central Michigan 14. (5 plays, 43 yards, 1:29)
Fourth Quarter
10:07 — Notre Dame field goal. Shrader 31 yards. Notre Dame 34, Central Michigan 17. (10 plays, 47 yards, 3:54)
5:45 — Notre Dame touchdown. Holden Staes 4-yard pass from Hartman. Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 41, Central Michigan 17. (6 plays, 82 yards, 2:51)
