DUBLIN — Lingering in an Aviva Stadium tunnel, Zack Martin cradled a weathered football in his left arm. It bore the tricolor logo for the event, Notre Dame’s Emerald Island Classic opener, but a 304-pound tackle toting the pigskin put the biggest stamp on the day.
This was the game ball, delivered by Irish coach Brian Kelly to his offensive and defensive lines after they delivered on their promise in a 50-10 annihilation of Navy. Kelly needs his team to be stout up front this year, he has insisted it will be, and it was.
Arguably, this is a more important line to toe on the offensive side. First because of the ripple effect assertive blocking and nearly 300 yards rushing have on a first-time starting quarterback’s poise. Second because anything less from an experienced group would be the more massive disappointment.
“(Kelly) relies on us to be a strong point of this team,” center Braxston Cave said. “Obviously we have a lot of experience and we know we have to put it on our shoulders to get the job done. With a new quarterback in, it makes his job that much easier, when we can dominate the line and run the ball like we did.”
Since it was Navy, the assessment is complicated a bit: As unflagging as the Midshipmen are, they also are mismatched physically against Notre Dame. It’s reasonable to expect greater literal push-back maybe every other weekend, starting Saturday against Purdue.
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But this surging identity should be a welcome omen for any interested observer. The Irish may go heavy on the groundwork in 2012, and given that they’ve won 34 of their last 36 when outrushing the opponent, it’s the best possible idea in a runaway.
“Here’s what they’ve got: They communicate very well, they work well together,” Kelly said of his line on a teleconference Sunday. “There’s not a lot of missed assignments and miscommunication. That was the overriding theme in our film study, that as a unit they work very well together.”
It helps make this a variety show too. Theo Riddick rushed for 107 yards and George Atkinson III added 99 while last year’s 1,000-yard rusher, Cierre Wood, watched from home.
In this sense, Notre Dame was the option team Saturday and moving forward, able to freely shuttle backs with little drop-off and infuse multiplicity into the game plan.
“We have George and Theo and Cam (McDaniel) and Cierre didn’t even play,” Martin said. “We have a lot of good backs to block for. When you have that kind of mixture, it’s always good to establish the running game.”
Said Cave: “We’re loaded back there. We know if we open up the holes, they’re going to do what they do.”
It’s as solid a plan as any.
Rees returns: Tommy Rees returns to active duty this week after a one-game suspension but will compete with Andrew Hendrix for backup quarterback duties behind Everett Golson, Kelly said.
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