Texas vs. Notre Dame: Postgame Grades for Longhorns, Irish

The No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish avoided a potential Week 1 trap game and dominated the Texas Longhorns 38-3 on Saturday night in South Bend. 

Malik Zaire looked impressive under center for the Irish, while Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard were anything but for the Longhorns. 

Let's take a lot at the postgame grades for each positional unit for both squads. 

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	A	A+
Rush Offense	C+	B
Pass Defense	A+	A
Rush Defense	B+	A-
Special Teams	A	A
Coaching	A	A

Notre Dame

Pass Offense: Zaire was nearly perfect on Saturday night, tossing for 313 yards and three scores and completing 19 of 22 passes while playing just three quarters. He kept drives alive and found holes both deep and underneath. Saturday marked what could be the start of a superstar career for Zaire. 

Rush Offense: With many of their yards coming in the second half as they looked to eat up clock, the Irish silently racked up 214 yards on 52 carries. The big concern is the injury to Tarean Folston, who was hurt in the first quarter and missed the rest of the game. He will be out for the season with an ACL tear.

Pass Defense: The Longhorns are in desperate need of a good quarterback, and Notre Dame took advantage of Texas' most glaring weakness. The Longhorns had just 103 yards through the air and completed just eight of 23 passes. However, the Irish didn't get an interception on the day, although they didn't need one. 

Rush Defense: Despite facing Johnathan Gray in the backfield, Notre Dame also stifled the Longhorns rushing attack. The Irish limited Texas to just 60 yards on 29 carries—barely more than two yards per carry.

Special Teams: Justin Yoon did miss a kick; however, he also converted on a field goal in his first college game. There were no disasters in the special teams unit, so the Irish got the job done here. 

Coaching: Clearly, Brian Kelly had the perfect game plan for Texas, and the Irish executed it to perfection. The most impressive feat came at the end of the first half, when two timeouts taken by Notre Dame nullified made field goals by Texas. The Longhorns then missed the third attempt and went into the locker room scoreless. 

Positional Unit	First-Half Grade	Final Grade
Pass Offense	F	D-
Rush Offense	D-	D
Pass Defense	D	F
Rush Defense	C	C
Special Teams	B	B+
Coaching	D	F

Texas

Pass Offense: Is it Swoopes or Heard who will ultimately lead Texas this season? On Saturday, it didn't look like either of them wanted to step up. Swoopes was 7-of-22 for 93 yards, with 48 of those coming on one completion, while Heard was 1-of-1 for 10 yards in limited action. One thing is clear, though: The Longhorns need a fix at quarterback and fast. 

Rush Offense: The rushing game was about as bad as the passing game was for the Longhorns. Gray looked overmatched despite being touted as one of the best backs in the Big 12, while Texas as a whole racked up just 60 yards on the ground. 

Pass Defense: For a guy who was making just his second start with the Irish, Malik Zaire looked like a bona fide veteran against a futile Texas secondary. The Longhorns forced just three incompletions while also giving up three touchdowns through the air. 

Rush Defense: Notre Dame's rush offense mattered little in Saturday night's affair, yet it still gained 214 yards—most of them came late with Notre Dame looking to milk the clock. That was all without star running back Tarean Folston, who missed the majority of the game with an injury. Imagine what a team with a great back will do to the Longhorns. 

Special Teams: There were no catastrophes in the special teams unit for Texas except for the missed field goal at the end of the first half, which took three tries and two converted kicks to get to. But the punting game was solid, as was the kick coverage. No real gripes here. 

Coaching: Charlie Strong wanted to make a statement in year two of his era and instead couldn't even whimper for mercy. The Irish exploited nearly every aspect of the Longhorns, and Texas, even though it was on the road and playing a ranked team, was completely outclassed.