Notre Dame vs. Temple: Game Grades, Analysis for the Fighting Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish stole a victory in the City of Brotherly Love thanks to a late touchdown grab from one of its own—Philly native Will Fuller—and beat the Temple Owls 24-20 in Saturday's only showdown between two ranked teams. 

In what was surely a much-needed College Football Playoff resume builder, the Irish overcame plenty of mistakes by making big plays when they needed them. 

With that, let's check out the game grades for each position unit for the Irish.

Rush Offense: B+

Quarterback DeShone Kizer was the team's leading rusher with 143 yards on 17 carries, 79 of those yards coming on one touchdown run. C.J. Prosise added just 25 yards on 14 carries. Those two were the only Irish players credited with any rushing attempts. While the Irish clearly lack depth when it comes to their ground attack, they still have that big play ability.

Pass Offense: B

Kizer was 23-of-36 passing for 299 yards and one touchdown, with that touchdown being the winning score to Fuller in the game's waning moments. Perhaps more damning for Kizer were two interceptions in the red zone, one at the very end of the first half that prevented the Irish from extending their 14-10 halftime lead. 

Rush Defense: A

Temple struggled all night rushing the ball. Through the first quarter alone, the Owls had minus-13 yards on the ground. Jahad Thomas ended with 82 yards, and the Owls eventually crossed the century mark with 107. But the front lines of Notre Dame's defense was stout all night, making every yard excruciatingly difficult for Temple. 

Pass Defense: A-

P.J. Walker was limited by the Irish secondary to just 13-of-30 passing for 188 yards and one touchdown, with his longest completion being 31 yards. The Irish at times gave up medium-to-long third-down conversions through the air, but ultimately Walker couldn't get into a rhythm. Plus, that late interception on the ensuing drive after Fuller's touchdown catch was what sealed the game up.

Special Teams: A-

There were no real disasters in the special teams unit for the Irish. One kickoff went out of bounds, but Justin Yoon was perfect on four kick attempts, including a field goal, and the Owls couldn't get anything going in their return game.

Coaching: B+

In one of the most hyped-up Temple football crowds in history, Brian Kelly found himself with an opportunity for a playoff resume builder that he probably didn't think he'd have during the preseason. Despite some debilitating penalties and not having the game in hand until the penultimate drive, Kelly ultimately didn't let a feisty Owls squad pull what could have been a program-defining upset.