Tag: Douglas Farmer

Social media reacts to Jadarian Price’s touchdown before halftime

That’s how you extend a lead.

After Notre Dame’s first touchdown, the offense hit a bit of a snag. It seemed like 7-0 would stay the score at halftime of the Sun Bowl. But never say never because things have a way of working out.

Oregon State tried a fake punt on fourth down near midfield late in the second quarter, but the Irish’s defense quickly snuffed that out:

Irish fans eagerly awaited to see what their team would do starting at the Beavers’ 44-yard line. The answer was a few plays with solid gains and [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] ultimately scoring a 1-yard touchdown to extend the Irish’s lead to 14-0:

Say what you will about the Irish not having every key 2023 player available, but [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] and the rest of the offense have held their own so far. While it wasn’t a perfect first-half performance, it was good enough, and that was all they could ask for.

Here’s how social media reacted to Price’s score:

Social media reacts to Tobias Merriweather’s 35-yard touchdown catch

Nice catch.

Notre Dame is finding itself in a fight it likely didn’t anticipate having against Wake Forest. The Deacons are proving to be a formidable opponent for the Irish, and they’ll have to make sure that changes in the second half. For now though, there are some good things about the first half to talk about. Specifically, there’s this 35-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag] to put the Irish up, 14-7:

This is Merriweather’s second touchdown of the season and his first since scoring against Central Michigan two months ago. He has played in every game this season but has found limited success. This touchdown has to feel like a relief for the sophomore receiver, who hopefully will have more opportunities to succeed in the future.

Social media reacted to Merriweather’s touchdown and probably didn’t anticipate that he would be the one to catch a pass like that coming in:

Social media reacts to Devyn Ford scoring Notre Dame’s first touchdown

There you go, Devyn.

[autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] had yet to score for Notre Dame since transferring over from Penn State. Senior day was his last opportunity to get a touchdown at Notre Dame Stadium. He finally broke through on a 12-yard reception late in the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 lead over Wake Forest:

Entering the game against the Deacons, Ford had 36 yards from scrimmage in nine games with 22 of those yards coming on passes. So you would have to forgive any Irish fans who somehow forgot he existed. Waiting until the last home game of the season to get on the scoresheet is an easy way for you to slip through the cracks. Still, he has to be happy to have that monkey off his back at last.

Social media probably didn’t expect to tweet about Ford today, but here are some of the best tweets that were found regarding his touchdown:

Social media reacts to Sam Hartman’s long touchdown run

That’s our QB.

Sam Hartman has had quite the mixed day against Clemson. In the first half, he threw an interception that Jeremiah Trotter Jr. returned for a touchdown. He’s trying his best to make sure the second half goes a lot better. So far, he’s done that, and there’s no greater evidence than taking advantage of solid blocking and finding daylight to run for a 26-yard touchdown:

Hartman cut Notre Dame’s deficit to 31-23 with that run. Naturally, he can’t do it by himself, but he’ll do whatever it takes to right whatever wrong he had earlier. You don’t play six years of college football and not figure that out.

Unlike the last Irish scoring drive, the defense was able to hold firm on the next possession. Yes, the Tigers successfully faked going for it on fourth down and pinned the Irish deep on a punt, but at least they didn’t score. That’s a win, right?

Here’s how social media reacted to Hartman’s scoring run:

Social media reacts to Xavier Watts’ two first-half interceptions

That’s six picks for him this season.

Christian Veilleux had to know [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] would be one of his biggest challenges when he led Pittsburgh’s offense against Notre Dame. He most certainly did not have two first-half interceptions by Watts in mind. Yet that’s exactly what happened, and they both set up all 14 points scored by the Irish’s offense in the half. The Irish led, 17-0, at the break.

Watts’ first pick set up the touchdown by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]:

This one set up a chip-shot field goal for [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] right before halftime:

You have to give Watts mad props for emerging as perhaps the one Irish defender you absolutely do not want to mess around with. If you don’t have a half-decent offense, which is the case for the Panthers, players like Watts will make you pay. Watts has done just that, and he’s going to be a major reason the ride back to the Steel City will be a long one.

Here is what social media is saying about Watts:

Social media reacts to Audric Estime’s touchdown vs. Pittsburgh

What a back the Irish fan.

After [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] intercepted Christian Veilleux to give Notre Dame the ball back, [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] made sure it was his drive. Estime carved up the Pittsburgh defense with a 33-yard run on the first play of that drive. Only three plays later, Estime had a 15-yard carry that was enough to put him in the end zone and give the Irish a 14-0 lead:

We’re in the last game of October, and Estime has reached double figures in touchdowns. Whatever the Irish do the rest of the season, he will have a lot to do with it.

Just like [autotag]Kyren Williams[/autotag] before him, Estime has had a couple of seasons in which the opposition has tried in vain to stop him despite planning for what he might do. The Irish are fortunate to have him.

Here’s how some Irish fans felt when they took to social media to celebrate Estime’s touchdown:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame walk-on scoring game-tying touchdown

Bet you didn’t have him scoring.

As far as Notre Dame walk-ons go, it’s gonna be tough to top [autotag]Rudy Ruettiger[/autotag] in terms of notoriety. But it’s a lot easier to pass Ruettiger in on-field performance if you have a chance to play. [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] got that chance in the second quarter against Louisville, and he came up at a big time. Two plays after making his first collegiate catch, he caught a 36-yard touchdown pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to tie the game:

Whatever happens the rest of this game, Faison will have this moment forever. Not everyone in his position has this particular opportunity, and he made the most of his. If he has a few more plays like this, he’ll be listed on the depth chart every week. Not bad for someone whose main sport is lacrosse.

While Faison is waiting, he can read these and other reactions that were posted to social media after his touchdown:

Social media reacts to officiating during Notre Dame-Central Michigan

Never want to bash officials, but…

I have a personal philosophy of not bashing officials consistently during sporting events. Some fans do it until the cows come home. I just want to see how teams play and the results that come from that. Unless there’s a really egregious error by a game’s officials, I typically prefer to stay out of the bashing.

However, the first half of Notre Dame’s game against Central Michigan made it clear a subpar crew was assigned to the game. I’m not particularly concerned about the calls the officials have made, but they definitely have taken too long to make penalty calls, conduct replay reviews and even determine where the ball is. That slows the game. While more time watching football is good in theory, the increase in dead time makes it excruciating.

The first half took more than an hour and a half to play, and there is little doubt the officials influenced that. Here are some tweets that agree:

Social media reacts to Jeremiyah Love scoring first college touchdown

Love-ly first score.

[autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] got four carries in his first collegiate game when Notre Dame beat Navy. While he got 40 yards out of those opportunities, they barely registered a blip on the radar with all the scoring going on. He didn’t have to wait long to find the end zone against Tennessee State. On the Irish’s first drive, they mainly advanced the ball on the run, and Love capped it with a 36-yard touchdown, the first score of the game and the first of his collegiate career:

Love is so new to the Irish that we don’t even have a proper photo of him available at the time this is being written. Rest assured, plenty of images of Love will surface if he continues to have big plays like the one we just witnessed. For now, we’ll settle for the fact that he’s being noticed by those watching the game as these tweets suggest:

Social media reacts to Jaden Greathouse’s second touchdown catch

Another score.

Scoring a touchdown in your first collegiate game is great. Scoring two in that game is a real thrill.

Notre Dame freshman Jaden Greathouse can make that claim after receiving another touchdown from Sam Hartman, this one from 20 yards out. The Irish have a touchdown on each of their first five possessions, thus increasing their lead over Navy to 35-0:

With little reason to believe the script of this game will be flipped, the second half figures to be nothing more than a showcase for how good this year’s Irish can be. They’ve dominated this one from the beginning, and while it wasn’t unexpected, it nonetheless feels great to witness. Those who made the trip overseas will tell you it was money well spent.

Even with the outcome likely decided, people still took to social media to talk about each touchdown. Here’s what they had to say about the latest one: