Week two the Irish welcomed New Mexico to South Bend for the first matchup ever between the schools. Both teams coming off week one wins and having to deal with injuries that would keep out some key players for both teams. New Mexico would have to play without their starting quarterback Junior Brandt Hughes and starting defensive lineman and team captain Senior Aaron Blackwell. Along with those injuries, New Mexico would have to travel to Notre Dame without their head coach Bob Davie due to a health issue that he would have to be hospitalized following their victory against Sam Houston State. Bob Davie who was a former head coach at the University of Notre Dame where he coached the Irish for 5 seasons from 1997-2001 with a record of 35-25 for the Irish over those 5 seasons. He was also a defensive coordinator under famous Irish head coach Lou Holtz prior to taking over as head coach.
Notre Dame had injuries to deal with as they were missing running backs Sophomore Jahmir Smith and Junior Jafar Armstrong who both suffered injuries last week. Jafar only had two carries in the first quarter against Louisville then suffered an injury to the groin area. While Jahmir was injured during a scrimmage on Saturday. For the Irish Junior cornerback Avery Davis would switch back to the position in which he played the previous season running back to help replace the injured players.
The game started with Notre Dame receiving the kickoff which was returned 59 yards by Sophomore Wide Receiver Lawrence Keys III to the New Mexico 49-yard line which gave the Irish great starting field position on their first drive. The field position did not amount to anything as the Irish ended up punting. On New Mexico’s first drive they would get three first downs but then threw an interception which was returned for a touchdown by Freshman defensive back Kyle Hamilton. The next three drives would all end in punts leaving the Irish with the ball on the New Mexico 42-yard line with 38 seconds left in the first quarter and would extend into the second quarter.
The Irish would march down the field dominating the Lobos with the run and they would end up with a first and goal on the 4-yard line. Back to back 1 yard runs by Sophomore running back C’Bo Flemister would leave the Irish with a third and goal. After a run for no gain Irish Senior quarterback Ian Book would take the fourth-down snap and sneak it in for a touchdown giving the Irish a 14-0 lead. After back to back punts, The Lobos would get the ball with just over 8 minutes left in the half they would drive from their 38-yard line to the Irish 44-yard line setting up a third and 13. Lobos Senior quarterback Sheriron Jones would drop back to pass but it would be intercepted by Senior safety Jalen Elliott. The next play Ian Book would throw a shuffle pass to Junior running back Avery Davis who would take the ball 59 yards for a touchdown just ten seconds after the interception making the score 21-0. Two drives later the Irish would take two plays to score on a pass from Ian Book to Senior Wide Receiver Javon McKinley who broke four tackles on his way to the 65-yard touchdown. Then following an interception by Irish Graduate Student Shawn Crawford two plays later Notre Dame would score on a 37-yard reception by Senior Chase Claypool. On the Lobos last drive of the half they finally cracked the scoreboard with a touchdown on a 47-yard run by Redshirt Sophomore Bryson Carroll. Notre Dame added a field goal to the score on the last play of the first half. The score going into halftime was Notre Dame 38 – New Mexico 7.
The third quarter was dominated by the Irish scoring on every drive they had in the quarter. Starting with a 54-yard touch pass to Graduate Student Chris Finke from quarterback Ian Book. Then Javon McKinley caught his second touchdown pass of the game which was a 20-yard completion from Book. Then after a missed snap on a field goal by New Mexico which was recovered by Sophomore defensive back TaRiq Bracy, the Irish would go on a drive which took them into the fourth quarter.
The end of the drive was a touchdown by C’Bo Flemister on a 1-yard run which was his second touchdown of the game. The next two drives after a New Mexico punt both ended with touchdowns. Notre Dame scored on a 22-yard reception by Sophomore wide receiver Braden Lenzy on a pass by Freshman quarterback Brendon Clark. The Lobos would then score their second touchdown of the game on a 37-yard run by redshirt Sophomore running back Bobby Cole. That would be the last score of the game, and it ended with a score of 66-14.
Notre Dame’s next game is against the current #3 team in the nation Georgia on September 21st at 8 pm.
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