It’s easy to see the improvement from game one to game two for the Irish. Not only did the offense fire out of the gate, scoring on 5 of their 6 first half possessions, the only non-scoring drive was a missed field goal, the defense showed up as well. Posting a shutout against South Florida shouldn’t go overlooked, it was an impressive performance on both sides of the ball.
After the day concluded, Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY, graded out winners and losers from the week. The Irish were among his winners, as Myerberg singled out Ian Book for his performance in leading the offense saying “a much stronger game” came from the senior.
It wasn’t just the offense however, the defense as a whole was dominant. “While the shutout on defense and increased balance on offense comes against the Bulls, a program in a rebuild under new coach Jeff Scott, the Irish look prepared for an ACC slate that heats up in October,” said Myerberg of the win.
Two games against ranked opponents lie ahead of the Irish for next month, No. 24 Louisville and No. 21 Pittsburgh. Those games will be tough, but the Irish should be favored in both of them.
The real tests come later in the schedule during a three-game stretch in November. First up the Clemson Tigers come to South Bend, then road trips to visit former Irish quarterback Phil Jurkovic and Boston College before final road game in Chapel Hill against North Carolina. The foray into ACC play is starting to heat up, so strap in. It’s going to be a fun ride.