Tag: One Foot Down

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 interception to set up touchdown

There we go.

Notre Dame was looking for a spark against Clemson. It finally came in the form of a [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] interception on the first possession of the second half. Watts snagged a deflected pass out of the air and returned it 33 yards to the Tigers’ 2-yard line. [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] promptly ran into the end zone to cut the Tigers’ lead to 24-16:

Watts’ interception was his seventh of the season, the most of anyone in the country. Unfortunately, the momentum gained from the aforementioned sequence didn’t last. When the Tigers took the ball back, they moved it as well as they did for most of the first half. They ultimately got those surrendered points back on a touchdown from Phil Mafah, making the score 31-16.

Despite the disappointment that followed, fans still were excited to see Watts come up with the football yet again. Here’s how social media reacted to his latest big play:

Social media reacts to Jaden Mickey interception return for touchdown

Only one in a series of big plays for the Irish.

This listicle began as one where social media reacted to [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag]’s touchdown to open Notre Dame’s third-quarter scoring. Here’s the play just so we have it on the site:

But just as work was beginning on the price listicle, a little-known Irish cornerback named [autotag]Jaden Mickey[/autotag] picked off Christian Veilleux for the first interception of his collegiate career. He also turned that interception into points, returning it 43 yards to the end zone, adding onto the Irish’s growing lead over Pittsburgh:

You always have to love when the players who aren’t as known get to shine in the spotlight. Even if Mickey doesn’t become a star, he’ll at least have plays like this to look back on.

Oh, and while this was being written, [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag] recovered a muffed punt in the end zone for another Irish touchdown:

We could recap all of this right now, but for our purposes, we’ll focus on the play that got most people out of their seats, and that’s the Mickey pick to the house. Here’s how social media reacted to it:

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 Chris Tyree’s 82-yard touchdown on punt return

What a playmaker.

[autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] has made one big play after another for Notre Dame this season. He’s done so on both offense and special teams. His latest such play opened the scoring for the Irish’s game against Pittsburgh.

Sam Hartman’s opening drive was moving until he was picked off by Phillip O’Brien Jr. The Irish’s defense promptly forced a three-and-out, and Tyree went back to receive the punt. When he did, he broke multiple tackles and suddenly found himself home free for an 82-yard score, giving the Irish a 7-0 lead:

It’s been a long time since Irish fans have seen a punt returned to the house. You have to go back to [autotag]C.J. Sanders[/autotag] against UMass in 2015 to find the last instance. The program definitely was overdue for one.

Here are some Irish fans’ reactions to Tyree’s big play on social media. After all, it’s been a while since they’ve seen this exact occurrence:

Social media reacts to Spencer Shrader’s 53-yard go-ahead field goal

Nick kick.

Notre Dame came out of the locker room looking to make noise against Louisville in the second half. That’s exactly what happened when [autotag]Cam Hart[/autotag] forced and recovered a Jamari Thrash fumble on the first play from scrimmage.

On third down of the resulting possession, [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] appeared to throw a long touchdown pass, but [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] was unable to haul it in. That left [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] to come on and try to give the Irish their first lead of the game. He did just that with a 53-yard field goal that made the score 10-7.

Obviously, the Irish will need more than Shrader to beat the Cardinals. Still, it’s nice to know they have this asset. This especially is true when the Cardinals’ Brock Travelstead missed a 42-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half. But Travelstead rebounded on his next attempt from 44 yards out to tie the game back up at 10.

Here are some reactions to Shrader’s successful kick on social media:

Social media reacts to Holden Staes’ fourth-quarter touchdown

Exclamation point.

Even with the outcome most likely decided, Notre Dame continued to press against Central Michigan. [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] had hit a lot of receivers over the course of the game, but one he hadn’t was tight end [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag]. That changed in the fourth quarter. Hartman hit Staes for a 4-yard touchdown, his first reception of the game, and any remaining doubts that the Irish would win were gone:

Not only did the touchdown extend the Irish’s lead further, but it set a program record. Dating to last season’s Gator Bowl, the Irish now have scored at least 40 points in five straight games. That’s the first such streak in 136 years of Notre Dame football. Everyone who has made this possible should feel very proud.

We will have more about the Irish’s 41-17 victory in other posts, but for our purposes here, let’s purely focus on social media reactions to Staes’ late touchdown:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame’s Davis Sherwood’s touchdown catch

The former linebacker just scored.

Notre Dame has developed a reputation as Tight End U in recent years. But can it also be called Linebacker-Turned-Tight-End U?

That might have to be considered after [autotag]Davis Sherwood[/autotag] scored his first career touchdown in the fourth quarter of the Irish’s game at NC State. Fresh off [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag]’ first career interceptions, [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] hit Sherwood for this 10-yard score:

This goes back to the point of Hartman getting a bunch of people involved as the head of the Irish’s offensive scheme. With [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] gone, somebody had to step up as the big tight end at a program that has generated a great many lately. We haven’t found that person yet, but could Sherwood be in the hunt? It would be a great story given that he started his collegiate career on the other side of the ball.

Until we get an answer to that question, enjoy the following tweets about Sherwood’s score. Incidentally, while this was being written, [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] scored another touchdown soon after a [autotag]DJ Brown[/autotag] interception. For now though, let’s focus on Sherwood:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame’s Holden Staes’ touchdown

Nice score by the tight end.

Notre Dame definitely has had a tougher time with NC State than it did against Navy or Tennessee State. Much of that has been self-inflicted with an uncharacteristic amount of penalties that have aid the Wolfpack’s scoring. But [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has shown capable of fending off whatever adversity that comes the Irish’s win. Fresh off a Wolfpack field goal, Hartman completed a pass to [autotag]Holden Staes[/autotag], who was off to the races with a 40-yard touchdown:

This is the second touchdown for Staes in as many games and the second of his career. The fact that he’s starting to show what he can do after barely getting that opportunity a year ago shows how many players are benefiting from Hartman’s presence. It was hyped up a lot before the season, but now, we’re getting to see it for ourselves. That includes folks on social media as evidenced by these tweets:

Social media reacts to Jaden Greathouse touchdown before halftime

Nice response to adversity.

After [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag]’s 56-yard field-goal attempt hit the upright, Notre Dame got back on defense against NC State. The possession was a disaster as one penalty after another played a major role in the Wolfpack scoring their first touchdown of the day. Needing a big offensive play before halftime, the Irish got it on a 65-yard pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] to [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag]. One play later, Hartman hit [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] from 12 yards out for a big score:

Just when it seemed like the Wolfpack were going to go into the locker room with all the momentum, Hartman took control of the situation in a collected manner. The result is the Irish had a 17-7 halftime lead. That’s what you want to see in a leader, and Hartman is one of them. Of course, Greathouse had to make the play, and he’s shown he’s good at that, too.

Here are some of the best tweets reacting to the score: