The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Texas Longhorns opened their 2015 season with a game in South Bend, Indiana. The game was not interesting at all for the casual fan as Notre Dame spanked the Texas Longhorns, 38-3. The game was not really as close as the scored indicated. Texas was hapless and Notre Dame did as they wished with then starting Quarterback Malik Zaire having an easy time with the Texas defense. The Texas Offense behind a really young Offensive Line and poor play calling and ineffective play and leadership at the Quarterback position were just tackling dummies for the Fighting Irish defense.
What a difference a year makes.
After last season, Texas fired it’s Offensive Coordinator, it’s Offensive Line coach and it’s Wide Receiver coach. The Running Backs coach quit and returned to USC which is where he was when Texas hired him.
From Tulsa, they hired Offensive Coordinator Sterlin Gilbert who is an Art Briles disciple. He’s a disciple as far as offenses and not off field fiascos.
Gilbert took the job under the condition that he bring his Offensive Line coach, Matt Mattox.
They also added Running Backs coach Anthony Johnson and Wide Receivers coach Charlie Williams.
The difference has been amazing.
It was obviously apparent in the Longhorn’s Spring game and even more so against the Fighting Irish. I wrote about the Longhorn’s spring game here: the ‘it’ factor
True freshman Quarterback Shane Beuchele also made my true freshman All American team:
This game was a wild one from start to finish.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly probably made a mistake switching Quarterbacks in the first half which may have allowed Texas to build a 17 point lead by the 3rd Quarter.
To their credit, the Fighting Irish lived up to their name and fought back gamely. They were down 31 to 14 when they began their comeback.
The Irish took the lead in the 4th quarter, 35-31.
The Texas Longhorns were also not about to lay down and die. Shane Beuchele led the team down the field to score and they took a 37-35 lead. The 2 point lead was short lived as Defensive Lineman Jarron Jones of Notre Dame stuck a big ole paw in the air and blocked the extra point. Defensive Back Shaun Crawford picked up the ball and returned it to score 2 points for the Irish and tie the game at 37 all.
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Both teams had opportunities to win the game, but neither could and the game went into Overtime.
Texas easily scored a Touchdown and the Irish covered easily in the first Overtime period. During the 2nd Overtime, the Texas defense rose up and stopped the Irish forcing a Field Goal.
When Texas got the ball back, Beuchele helped the team into scoring position. Texas inserted the 6-5, 250 Swoopes at Quarterback and he scored to win the game, 50-47.
With only the Florida State vs Ole Miss remaining for the first week of college football games, the Texas vs Notre Dame game should win the award as the weekend’s best football game.
What a difference a year, a new set of Offensive coaches and a new Quarterback made for the
Longhorns.
Notre Dame may not be out of the playoff consideration either. Ohio State lost it’s first game in 2014 to Virginia Tech and obviously they won the Big 10 championship and were given a playoff berth and they won it all.
Alabama lost to Ole Miss last season. The key may be to lose a game early which is exactly what happened to the Fighting Irish. They can win out and still have a shot at the playoffs. Of course, the Irish always have a tough schedule with games remaining against Michigan State, Stanford, Miami, Virginia Tech and USC. They are all winnable, but they could also stumble in a game, or two.
Notre Dame Quarterback Deshone Kizer looked good throwing for 215 yards and 5 Touchdowns. He also ran for 77 yards and another score.
Losing his favorite Wide Receiver, Will Fuller, to the NFL was huge. But, 6-5, 205 Equanimeous St Brown is an outstanding sophomore who caught 5 passes for 75 yards and 2 Touchdowns against Texas. Brown also gets an immediate spot on the All Name team.
The Irish still have a good Offensive Line and Running Backs. The season is not over for them, it just took off with a huge disappointment.
The Longhorns will be ranked when the Polls come out on Tuesday. They appear to have a very bright future with a lot of freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
Very few have brighter college football futures than true freshman Quarterback Shane Beuchele and Middle Linebacker Malik Jefferson.