Notre Dame scored touchdowns on four of its first five possessions, and coasted to a 49-16 victory over the Temple Owls on Saturday. Tailback Josh Adams ran for 161 yards and two scores, including a 38-yard scoring burst on the second play from scrimmage to lead the Fighting Irish. The team racked up 422 yards rushing and all three tailbacks reached the end zone. Quarterback Brandon Wimbush made his debut as the starter and acquitted himself well, throwing for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The elusive junior also ran for 106 yards and another score. Defensively, the rebuilt front line and secondary held up quite well. End Daelin Hayes led the charge as the rejuvenated pass rush recorded three sacks and forced a fumble.

Temple could manage a mere field goal during the initial Irish onslaught, and found itself in a 28-3 hole after only 19 minutes had elapsed. A Logan Marchi scoring pass to Kevin Kirkwood closed the gap to 28-10 at the half. but the Owls suffered two sacks and a missed field goal in the third quarter to squash any hope for a comeback. Notre Dame finished strong with three rushing touchdowns in the final 20 minutes, as Adams, Tony Jones and Dexter Williams hit paydirt.

The only concerns for the hosts were an injury to tight end Durham Smythe, who was hit while laying out for a pass over the middle in the second half. Smythe did not appear to be seriously hurt. Also, kicker Justin Yoon missed both of his field goal attempts on the day, but made all seven extra points.

Notre Dame’s offensive line was as stout as advertised, particularly on the left side where Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlinchey cleared the way for several long gainers. Wimbush made a few extraordinary plays with his arm and legs, and his obvious raw talent overshadowed the few times when he took unnecessary hits while scrambling or threw his lone interception of the day. The defense played a solid game with crisp tackling, no obvious blown assignments and an effective mix of coverages and blitzes.

Let’s take a look at the pregame questions:

Which young quarterback will demonstrate poise and accuracy? Wimbush was in command all day and won this battle, as Marchi’s accuracy was not stellar and he felt pressure most of the day.

Will the Irish defensive line stand firm against the run? Yes, Notre Dame held Armstead to 67 yards on 19 carries and kept the Owls under 100 for the day.

Can either team generate an effective pass rush? Mike Elko’s charges played aggressively while consistently keeping containment. Temple’s offensive line was not exactly elite but the Irish should feel good about themselves tonight.

Will Notre Dame’s offense play crisply and avoid mental errors? Yes. The penalties were minor and did not derail the express train that rolled for 49 points.

How will Long’s play-calling differ from Kelly’s? There were still a few questionable passes and that awful goal line fade pass, but the avalanche of productive runs made it all good for Irish fans.

Will Elko’s defense play aggressively without getting burned for big gains? Yes, and they also did not run out of gas in the second half as they did so many times last season.

Can a mammoth video board be operated tastefully? It’s a long season, and the boundaries of good taste will almost assuredly be breached. Let’s hope Notre Dame can create enough highlights on the field to keep the clutter from assaulting the patrons.

It was a good opening day for the Irish, and both the coaches and players appeared to be on the same happy page on the sideline. Perhaps the tribute to Ara Parseghian and the recognition of Bob Crable helped this team look and play more like its historic predecessors, but let’s take it at face value for now.