Notre Dame Football: What Was Learned from the Victory over Michigan State

South Bend was rocking on Saturday night as Notre Dame came up with a victory in what was deemed by many as a must win for the Fighting Irish. The defense, which has taken some lumps in the first two games, made plays for the first time all season.

To the delight of the Irish faithful, there were several appearances by many of the highly touted recruits that made up what was considered to be a top ten class by several recruiting experts. Players such as true freshmen DE Aaron Lynch and RB George Atkinson III were very important in the upset victory over then No. 15 Michigan State.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the game was the improved play of the Notre Dame secondary. The back four really struggled at Michigan a week ago, and they followed that up with a much improved effort against Michigan State.

Robert Blanton came up with a critical interception, and Harrison Smith broke up several passes which led to the 31-13 Notre Dame victory. Junior linebacker Manti Te'o was outstanding as usual, recording 12 tackles.

With Notre Dame's struggles early in the season, in which they basically handed two games over to their opponents, the team really responded this weekend.

What did we learn in the third game of the season?

The Freshmen Stepped Up

Defensive end Aaron Lynch made his presence felt early and often on Saturday, leading to a tough afternoon for all-Big Ten quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The highly touted freshman, a Florida native, is the caliber of player that will help Notre Dame improve under Brian Kelly. This emerging star is the type of athlete that has not chosen South Bend as their destination to play football since Justin Tuck. Lynch recorded his first sack in the opening quarter and also forced one fumble.

Fellow true freshman George Atkinson III was not to be outdone, proving that he is a very good player in his own right. He ran for an 89-yard kickoff return in the first quarter. This marked the first time a freshman had taken a kick back for a touchdown since 1988, when Raghib "The Rocket" Ismail was playing for the Blue and Gold.

The coaching staff said all week that the freshmen were going to be given a chance to play this week, and boy did that decision pay dividends for the Irish.

With Notre Dame again struggling in the punt return game, with both John Goodman and Theo Riddick muffing punts, it will be interesting to see if Atkinson III will get the opportunity to be the punt returner. One way to ease the process of breaking in a young quarterback is solid play on special teams.

The Irish Stuffed Michigan State's Ground Game

Notre Dame held MSU to just 28 yards rushing on Saturday. For a team that has Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell, the Spartans have two solid options for the ground game. 

As stated earlier, Lynch came up huge, but do not overlook the play of veterans such as Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore. Also, red-shirt freshman Louis Nix has really excelled in his debut season in action. Nix will likely set the blueprint for how the coaching staff wants to use highly touted defensive tackle commits Jarron Jones and Sheldon Day.

In all, the Irish have to be very pleased with the way their defense bounced back from a nightmare finish a week prior to rival Michigan.

The Running Game Proved It Could Play Well vs. an Elite Defensive Line

In years past, the Fighting Irish have had a problem against elite, physical defensive lines. The team proved that in year two in the offensive line has a much better grasp of the zone blocking scheme implemented by the Kelly regime.

This was against a Michigan State team that had just given up 48 total yards of offense including just 22 yards on the ground, week 2 vs. Florida International. Not to say that FIU is a football juggernaut like a Wisconsin Badger team or some of the other Big Ten powers, but that is impressive.

Whats even more impressive is that the defense let FIU account for just one first down in the entire game. If Notre Dame wanted to win, they had to block the athletic front of the MSU defensive line Saturday,and the team accomplished its goal.

 Many critics of the spread offense vow that the spread makes it difficult to run the ball. However, as evidenced by successes of programs such as Oregon under Chip Kelly and West Virginia with Rich Rodriquez, it can be done with the combination of solid zone blocking and the right players in the system.

Although only running for 68 yards, Cierre Wood recorded two touchdowns, including a 22-yard scoring run in the first quarter.

More importantly, Jonas Gray rushed for 54 yards on nine carries. It is absolutely imperative these days to have more than one running back on your team to help ease the wear and tear a runner experiences in college football. The two running backs combined for 114 on the ground against one of the better defensive lines in the country.

Many remember Gray’s costly fumble in the season opener which led to a touchdown for South Florida. According to local media outlets, such as the South Bend Tribune, that play was really bothering the senior. It’s great to see talented players bounce back from adversity and overcome bad games with improvement week to week.

The Irish also improved on capitalizing on their opportunities. In the first two games, Notre Dame really struggled in the red zone. However, in this game the Irish were able to put up points inside the 20.

Fellow Irish Receivers Must Help Michael Floyd

TJ Jones had to step up in a big way if the Irish hoped to win, and he accomplished that against the Spartans. Many remember the scene when Brian Kelly really let Jones have it against South Florida, after the ball hit him on the head against the Bulls leading to a Tommy Rees interception.

On Saturday, the sophomore made crucial plays, including a 22-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Someone other than Michael Floyd has to step up if Notre Dame wishes to live up to their preseason hype, otherwise teams will continue to consistently double Floyd.

Moving Forward, Rees Has to Improve

If Notre Dame wants to reach its full potential, quarterback Tommy Rees has to take care of the football.

Due to Robert Blanton's interception and the kickoff return touchdown by Atkinson III, ND was able to pull out the win. If the coaching staff want to cling to their BCS hopes that are currently on life support, the quarterback has to take care of the football.

There is a difference between having bad games and consistently making bad decisions. The sophomore has thrown interceptions in each of the first three games and has consistently fumbled the football. I am not sitting here and knocking Rees, because he has won several games in South Bend and can be very solid in spurts. However, fumbling the football like versus Michigan deflates a team that is trying to regain its confidence.

The upcoming Irish schedule is much more favorable. The next game is against a Pitt team that is breaking in a first-year coach, followed by match-ups at Purdue and home against Air Force. If the team wants to make a push for a solid bowl game or perhaps a BCS bid, No. 11 has to step up.

Rees has shown the ability to be a very good player with a career touchdown-to-interception ratio of 18 to 13. With more experience, he could be a solid college football player in the future. If that’s the case, the ceiling is high in South Bend.