Notre Dame 3-2-1: Three numbers, two questions and one prediction prior to the matchup with Tennessee State

With the 2023 Notre Dame football season off to an impressive start after a 42-3 win Saturday against Navy, it’s that time of the week to take a fresh look at some of what is and what will be for Notre Dame in this latest edition of the 3-2-1 (3 numbers, 2 questions, 1 prediction), a column made popular by the late Lou Somogyi.

So let’s look back to Navy, ahead to Tennessee State on Saturday, and beyond when the Irish schedule begins to heat up. 

3 Numbers

7 — The number of offensive reps Irish junior wide receiver Deion Colzie took last Saturday against the Midshipmen. He made good on ‘em, snagging a career-high 3 receptions for 45 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown reception that gave the Irish a 42-0 fourth-quarter lead. Colzie also played extensively on special teams against the Midshipmen. 

1 — The number of penalties that Notre Dame committed against Navy, an amazing performance in any game, but especially in a season opener. That one miscue came in the first quarter on a 10-yard holding penalty by junior tight end Mitchell Evans. The Irish averaged 4.62 penalties per game in 2022. 

3 — The number of Notre Dame quarterbacks to throw 4 touchdown passes in their Fighting Irish debut. Graduate student Sam Hartman joined the club Saturday after he went 19-of-23 passing for 251 yards with the 4 scoring tosses. Ron Powlus (1994) and Jack Coan (2021) are the only other Irish signal-callers to reach the four-TD mark in their first Notre Dame game. 

2 Questions

Can Sam Hartman lift the Irish wide receivers’ room to a place it hasn’t been in years?

With Navy as the only sample, putting too much stock into one game can be a dangerous endeavor. But given what the nation saw from Hartman in Dublin, it’s hard to imagine this can’t become the deepest and most dangerous group of Irish receivers going all the way back to the Charlie Weis era when Notre Dame featured All-American wideouts including Golden Tate and Jeff Samardzija, along with many talented others. 

Hartman connected with six different Irish wide receivers Saturday and nine pass catchers total.

And talk about sharing the wealth, four Irish wideouts recorded at least three receptions, all four had at least 36 receiving yards and three caught a touchdown pass from Hartman. 

Freshman wideout Jaden Greathouse had 2 TD grabs.

What’s most interesting is that after relying almost exclusively on All-American tight end Michael Mayer for its pass-game production last season, Notre Dame remarkably didn’t even target a tight end Saturday. 

It’s an encouraging sign for a wide receiver room that’s had only one 1,000-yard receiver (Chase Claypool in 2019) since 2015. 

“[Hartman] played extremely well,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. “And he’s a very focused and mature individual that will continuously work with everything. But there’s always learning opportunities in every single game we play.”

Why did Freeman move his team’s day off from Monday to Sunday?

The long travel back from Ireland dictated some of that. But Freeman believes having a full Sunday off serves his players best with no classes to worry about and a full day to recover from game-day Saturday. 

Freeman explained how the team arrived back at the hotel in Dublin, at about 12:30 a.m. (Dublin time) early Sunday morning, grabbed a few hours of sleep, and started loading up for the seven- or eight-hour flight at about 5:30 a.m.

“They probably thought they were going to be able to sleep on the plane,” Freeman said. “But to sleep on a plane is not an easy thing to do.”

So, instead of getting home and immediately getting back to work, Freeman tweaked his practice schedule for this week and the entire season moving forward.

What does it mean?

Freeman believes taking Sunday off instead of Monday best fits the schedule for his student-athletes, even if it is a change in routine. 

“You got to take in consideration what they’re asked to do on a Monday compared to what it was like somewhere else,” Freeman explained. “And so, that’s kind of the biggest thing. I wanted them to truly have a day off, get one day off. But I wanted them to be able to take Sunday and really work academically.”

1 Prediction

Obviously not a popular assessment, but Notre Dame will not go undefeated against ACC opponents this season and it will see its 28-game regular-season winning streak against the league end. 

And next Saturday at NC State, and at Clemson on Nov. 4, are the two most difficult games against the conference this year. 

NC State went 8-5 last season, including a 6-1 mark at home. The Wolfpack has also won at least eight games in three straight seasons and it has lost only two of its last 20 games at Carter-Finley Stadium since 2020. Clemson is 39-1 in its last 40 home games.