Good Start For The Irish

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish season got off to a good start in Atlanta last night as they beat Georgia Tech, 14-10, in a hard-fought defensive battle.

ND held Georgia Tech to only 71 yards in the second half and held them scoreless. Notre Dame scored the only touchdown of the second half after they trailed, 10-7 at halftime. The defense was supposed to be ND's achilles heel, as they got absolutely torn to shreds in last year's Fiesta Bowl by Ohio State. But they held their own and got the victory.

Brady Quinn (you have to love a team called "The Irish" with a guy named "Quinn" at the controls!) was 23 for 38 for 246 yards, and scored the Irish's first TD of the game, on a quarterback draw with 11 seconds to play in the half.

Darius Walker scored the other ND touchdown on a 13-yard run off left tackle midway in the third quarter to give the Irish the lead they would not relinquish. Late in the fourth, with less than one minute to play, ND called timeout on fourth and one at the GT 45, and it looked like they would punt the ball away and let the defense take over. But Charlie Weis called for a QB sneak, and Quinn got the first down and ND ran out the clock, as GT was out of timeouts. I love Weis as a coach, and the gambles he takes.

ND plays Penn State next Saturday in their home opener at Notre Dame Stadium. It's a tough run for the Irish after that, as they then play Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue. But their season's off to a good start. Is a 12th national championship in the offing? Stay tuned.