Notre Dame is off to a much better start against USF than it was against Duke. On their first two possessions, the Irish were blessed with a short field after a face-mask penalty and a 21-yard punt following a three-and-out for the Bulls. So they barely had to break a sweat on their way to a 14-0 lead after the first quarter, which ended with them very close to another score heading into the second.
Ian Book looked very comfortable early on as almost every play he had in the quarter went for positive yardage. He capped the first drive, which began at the Notre Dame 46-yard line, with his first rushing touchdown of the season. The aforementioned short punt allowed the Irish to start their second possession in Bulls territory. Braden Lenzy cut the field in half with a 21-yard reception, and the Irish continued to march until Chris Tyree ran into the end zone from 1 yard out, giving him the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
USF threatened to make it close after Johnny Ford ran 42 yards to open the next drive. But the Irish defense held on the next series and then snuffed out a fake punt that was poorly designed from the beginning. So it goes with Charlie Weis Jr. calling the plays for the Bulls. That’s not too harsh of a statement, is it?