If Notre Dame’s season opener against Florida State has proven anything thus far, it’s that this team can respond to adversity. Every time the Seminoles have done something impressive, the Irish have responded. The reward for that persistence is a 38-20 Notre Dame lead after three quarters.
After a fumble recovered by the Irish on the second-half kickoff was overturned by replay, the second such instance of the game, the Seminoles took advantage of their good fortune when Jordan Travis threw a long pass that Ja’Khi Douglas caught. With nothing but open field in front of him, Douglas outran Houston Griffith to score a 60-yard touchdown that gave the Seminoles a 20-17 lead. Only three plays, and the Irish suddenly were behind, though they caught a break when the snap was mishandled on the extra-point kick.
The sudden deficit was no problem for Jack Coan, who responded almost as quickly. A 29-yard pass to Kevin Austin set the Irish up nicely in Seminole territory. Two plays later, Coan found Austin again, this time, on a nice catch for a 37-yard touchdown.
Florida State’s next possession lasted only two plays as Kyle Hamilton snuffed it out by intercepting Travis for the second time in as many quarters. The Irish moved backwards but converted on third-and-17 when Coan hit Kyren Williams for a short completion, then watched Williams zigzag his way through the Seminoles’ defense on a 55-yard gain. After Coan found Austin again on a 17-yard pass to set up first-and-goal, Williams eventually caught another pass on third down and was able to cross the pylon with defenders surrounding him, giving him a 6-yard touchdown and Coan his fourth touchdown pass.
The Seminoles went four-and-out when they took the ball back, and a Clarence Lewis interception on the final play gave the Irish the ball on the Seminoles’ 33-yard line. Braden Lenzy had a 24-yard completion on the first play of the possession, which ended on a 1-yard touchdown run from Chris Tyree. Florida State got all the way to the Irish’s 1-yard line on their next possession before the third quarter ended.