Notre Dame Notebook: Irish Players React To Central Michigan Win

There were good things, bad things, surprising things, and sometimes head scratching things that came out of Notre Dame’s 41-17 win over Central Michigan. One thing that was expected coming into this season was the big play capability of Tobias Merriweather and that was on display right away Saturday afternoon.

The wide receiver had three receptions for 50 yards through the first two games of the season. The totals were a far cry from what most though the talented and highly recruited sophomore would give the Fighting Irish defense. On the game’s fourth play, Merriweather beat his man down the left sideline, reeled in a pass from Sam Hartman and raced to the end zone for a 75-yard touchdown.

That’s the kind of big play everyone, Merriweather included, knows he can provide. The explosive play came a week after he was tackled from behind after a 45-yard gain by NC State linebacker Payton Wilson. That play wasn’t on Merriweather’s mind as he raced to the end zone against Central Michigan.

"No, I'm not really used to getting chased down from behind,” Merriweather said. "But that guy's a heck of an athlete, No. 11. But that was probably - and we didn't score that drive, which really took it out of it for me. So, I was like, I got to get it next time. This time, the ball's in my hands, finished in the end zone.”

Rylie Mills On Red Zone Results

Notre Dame is a much-improved red zone defensive team this season. Even after giving up scores on three of Central Michigan’s trips to the red zone, the Irish still rank 12th in the nation in red zone defense this season.

The Chippewas scored two red zone touchdowns and kicked a field goal for their red zone points. They also pushed all the way to the Irish five-yard line before missing a field goal.

"It just comes down to trust,” Irish defensive tackle Rylie Mills said after the game of the goal to go red zone stop. "I think the first half we come out, they scored whole points and I think last year we were freaked out ... 'Oh, my God, what's going on?' Through the preseason and through camp, we kind of came together and were like, 'Look, we all trust, we all know everyone can do each other's jobs.' So, when we go out there we're just confident knowing that we can go out there and when we play our best football, no one can get by us.”

Jack Kiser On Defensive Identity

Jack Kiser had to play out of position on Saturday. Notre Dame’s top Rover moved to middle linebacker with captain JD Bertrand’s out due to a concussion he sustained last week against NC State. The Irish had more missed tackles than anyone would have liked to see against CMU, but Kiser led the team with 10 tackles. Kiser discussed the unit’s identity after the victory.

"I think that the identity of this defense is we're going out there and we're trying to play our best on any given snap,” Kiser began. "What we mean by best, we mean ball disruption, effort. You know what I mean? Unit strength. Technically, knowing situations, tackling, being out there every single snap and have great effort, get the ball down and get back and just say, put the ball down anywhere, we're going to play, we're going to put our backs against the fence and not give a yard. I think you look at it, our ball disruption has gone up a lot. 

"Now, are we getting them? No, and so, that's the next progression," Kiser continued. "We're getting the ball out on the ground. We just got to populate the ball and get on the ball. So, there's still ways we can increase and make our defense better and continue to build that identity. Today, tackling, that's got to be better. We can step up on that. But, yeah, as an identity, I think we're trying to come out here and play our best ball every down.”

Audric Estime On Focus

Audric Estime ended his day with a career-high 176 yards on the ground. Estime came into the day with the goal of matching the 80-yard run he had against NC State last week, but he left the game satisfied.

"At the end of the day, I'm happy we got the win and I'm happy we're still four and zero and we keep going,” Estime said. "That feels great to have my career high, but hopefully let's break it again.”

The Irish led just 21-14 at halftime and had a slew of uncharacteristic mistakes, including eight penalties, that muddled the view of what turned into a lopsided win. They looked like a team that may have had their eyes or minds on a different opponent than the one they were playing.

"We always take it one week at a time, one play at a time,” Estime remarked. "We knew our opponent was Central Michigan. We knew they were a good team, so we couldn't look past them or else we wouldn't know what would happen. So, our main focus was Central Michigan. We didn't even look at Ohio State. Every week, we're just staying tunnel visioned. And whoever our opponent is, we're going to give that opponent 110 percent. Central Michigan was our opponent this week, but now it's Ohio State, all Ohio State.”