Notre Dame Football: Grading the Fighting Irish's Game vs. Wake Forest

It was ugly at times, but Notre Dame found a way to escape Wake Forest Saturday night at Groves Stadium in Winston-Salem.

The Irish trailed 17-10 at halftime and responded with two unanswered touchdowns to begin the second half. They never looked back after that on the way to the 24-17 victory.

As usual, it's time to hand out report card grades for the Irish's win over Wake Forest.

Quarterbacks

Grade: C+

Tommy Rees regressed a bit in this game, throwing two costly interceptions, one which came late in the second half.

The sophomore quarterback struggled throwing the deep ball from the start, forcing head coach Brian Kelly to emphasize the run game.

Yet, the deep ball wasn't his only weakness against the Demon Deacons. Rees continued to have spurts of inaccuracy, something he's displayed in every start this season.

If there's one positive to take away from Rees' performance, it's that he remained cool and collected in the face of adversity and two turnovers.

Given the circumstances of the game, neither Dayne Crist nor Andrew Hendrix saw any action.

Running Backs

Grade: A

Jonas Gray led the way for the Irish rushing attack, accumulating 92 yards on 19 carries, including one score.

It was Gray's relentless style of play that really kept the offense on task. His ability to pick those few extra yards at the end of his runs eventually wore down the Wake Forest defense.

Also getting in on the action was Gray's partner in crime, Cierre Wood, who carried the ball 14 times for 87 yards. 

Wood had a critical 27-yard rush that set up Notre Dame's second score, putting them ahead for good at 24-17.

We didn't see George Atkinson get any action, likely due to the close nature of the game.

Receivers

Grade: A

Notre Dame receivers quietly had a terrific outing, with Michael Floyd leading the way. The senior hauled in five receptions for 44 yards and a pretty over-the-shoulder touchdown grab.

The Wake Forest secondary deserves a lot of credit for effectively containing Floyd, much like Pittsburgh and USC did.

Tommy Rees' other favorite target, tight end Tyler Eifert, got into the end zone on an explosive 38-yard pass in the first quarter to tie the score at 10.

Other than those two, TJ Jones deserves much credit. Jones was a warrior on Saturday night, skying for a highly-thrown pass, but coming down hard on his shoulder. He was tested for concussion symptoms, yet came back into the game.

Offensive Line

Grade: A

If there's one unit that deserves the game ball, it's Notre Dame's offensive line. The group has provided Tommy Rees with, perhaps, the best protection in the nation.

As popular as "No Shave November" might be with the team, they should be calling it "No Sack November," as they haven't given up a sack since the Pittsburgh game.

Aside from the excellent protection, the line has done an excellent job of controlling the line of scrimmage since being handled by USC's defensive line two weeks ago.

It's fair to say that the play of the offensive line was the reason for the Irish victory Saturday night.

Defensive Line

Grade: A

Some of you may not agree with this grade, but consider the fact that the Irish were without starting defensive ends Ethan Johnson and Kapron Lewis-Moore.

Also, Aaron Lynch was hobbled in the second quarter and played on a weak ankle for the remainder of the game.

The one player on the defensive line who deserves the most recognition is freshman Stephon Tuitt. The Georgia native played the best game of his young career, anchoring the defensive line in the second half.

Seeing the rapid maturation and development of both Aaron Lynch and Stephon Tuitt is music to Irish fans' ears, as both players are going to be leaned on with Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson both missing in action.

Linebackers

Grade: B-

Once again, the Irish linebackers whiffed on a number of tackles and seemed out of sorts from the start. Manti Te'o was his usual self, having a solid night at BB&T Field.

The persistent trend that we've seen in recent weeks is the linebackers being a step slow on many plays and failing to wrap up. The attempted arm tackling is disturbing.

There doesn't seem to be a quick fix for this chronic problem, so the offseason will be a time for drastic improvement. 

Secondary

Grade: C+

I may be a bit harsh with the grading here, but I'll tell you why. Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price had no trouble picking apart the Irish secondary, completing 17-of-24 pass attempts for 187 yards and one score.

Plain and simple, Price made it look easy against a secondary that was torn apart by USC quarterback Matt Barkley two weeks ago.

If there's a glaring weakness of Bob Diaco's defense, it's the vulnerability of the secondary. That's a scary thought with Andrew Luck and Stanford looming on the horizon.

Special Teams

Grade: B+

Notre Dame special teams would have received an A if not for the awful punt return game we've become accustomed to.

Aside from that, all was smooth on the special teams front.

David Ruffer nailed his lone field goal attempt of the game, a 44-yarder that put the Irish on the board. Punter Ben Turk booted the ball three times with a 41.3-yard average.

Austin Collinsworth and George Atkinson deserve a shout-out after great performances as kick returners.

Coaching

Grade: B

From the beginning of Notre Dame's game against Wake Forest, it seemed the Irish didn't really want to be there.

They were flat-footed and sluggish. Not the kind of start Brian Kelly ever expects to see. However, it all comes down to him preparing his team to play.

Whether it's a lack of motivation or any other problem, Kelly has to find a solution or else we're in for plenty of these grind-it-out type of games.

Intangibles

Grade: B

After a slow start, and falling behind 17-10 at halftime, the Irish offense scored two unanswered touchdowns to go ahead 24-17. They'd never look back.

The defense did an excellent job of executing its halftime adjustments, shutting out the Demon Deacons in the second half.

Like I said in the previous slide, the slow starts are worrisome, and there's no clear solution.

However, the mental toughness displayed by the Irish in the second half is something to be applauded.