Notre Dame's defense rose to the occasion last week, shutting down one of the top rush teams in the country to win their third straight, 30-22.

Don't let the final score fool anyone, the Irish dominated in the game and except for some sloppy play at the end were in control.Head coach Brian Kelly said it best when he told NBC after the game that his club just has to learn to finish a team off. They didn't allowing Georgia Tech to get an on-sides kick to get the TD that brought them within a score. But it came with about 20 seconds left. ND sealed the deal when Torii Hunter grabbed the second on-sides kick by the Yellow Jackets. Tech scored twice in less than a minute, telling me the defense fell asleep.The defense knew it had to step up because the Irish offensive attack was somewhat of a question mark as redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer was starting his first game for the Irish against the 14th ranked team in the country. The defensive effort allowed Kizer to settle into the position. He handled it well. He was not perfect, but he did a good job. He needs work and will improve as the season wears on.Until the Jackets scored their 15th point in a 26-second span, in the final minute, their offense, ranked second in the nation at the time, was held to their lowest output. Georgia Tech, which averages over 340 yards per game, had only one yard more than ND for the game with 216 to 215. The Jackets also entered the game with not having any three and outs in their prior two contests, had two in their first two positions. The Jackets also had set a NCAA record for third-down efficiency in 2014 at 58 percent, was 0 for 9 on third down heading into the final quarter and ended up 3 of 15. And finally, the Jackets were 12 for 12 in red zone appearances in their prior two games and were just 2 of 4.On the other side of the ball, Kizer was cool and collected. Some throws were not good, and he threw his first interception of his career, and the first Irish turnover this season.But the real offensive star was running back C.J. Prosise who had 198 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns, including a 91-yarder that kinda put the game away for the Irish, had they not faltered in the final minute. The 198 yards were the most by an Irish player since Julius Jones had 218 on 23 carries against Stanford in 2003. He was also the first Irish back to score three TDs in a game since Jonas Gray did so against Navy in 2011.More on the game later.The Irish are home today hosting the University of Massachusetts. It will be the first meeting between the two schools. UMass enters the game 0-2 with losses to Colorado, 48-14, and last week, a heartbreaker, to Temple, 25-23, losing on a last-second field goal. The Minutemen were 3-9 in 2014. UMass is led by QB Blake Frohnapbel, a 6-6 and 229 pound graduate student. Top offensive player is receiver Tajae Sharpe. Defensively nose guard Robert Kitching leads the way along with MLB Jovan Santos. UMass is pass-happy and throws the ball a lot, a lot more than they run. In fact, the Minutemen are ranked 19th in passing in the nation but is 127th in rush offense.The game will be televised nationally by NBC-TV with a 3:40 p.m. kickoff.IRISH NOTES: Kizer finished with 21 completions on 30 attempts for 242 yards, a TD and interception. Behind Prosise was Josh Adams, 7 yards on 2 carries; Kizer ran 5 times for just 6 yards. Chris Brown had his best day as a receiver with 8 catches for 65 yards. Will Fuller finished with 6 for 131 and a score. New starter Alize Jones had 3 for 19, Hunter 1 for 17. Seven Irish receivers touched the ball in the game. Defensively Joe Schmidt had 10 tackles to lead the Irish; Greer Martini 8 and Elijah Shumate and Jaylon Smith 5 each. Schmidt had two tackles for loss totaling 10 yards….Prosise's 91-yard TD sprint with 6:58 to go in the game is believed to be the longest running play in the history of ND stadium….It was ND's third straight 200-yard rushing performance and the first time it has put three together since 2012….Freshman defensive tackle Jerry Tillery made his first career start, and sophomore Greer Martini and Drue Tranquill got their first starts of the season. However, Tranquill, a safety, left the game late in the second quarter with a right knee injury which occurred during a celebration in the end zone. It turned out to be a torn ligament and he is done for the season. The sixth Irish player out for the season due to injuries ….ND had two turnovers in the game. The second was a fumble by Jones….Fuller had his third 100-yard receiving game of the season and the 7th of his career. He's tried for 6th place in that category with Maurice Stovall (2002-05)….Kizer's 242 yards passing with 1 TD Saturday were the most passing yards by a first-time ND starter since Brady Quinn threw for 297 yards against Purdue in 2003, and the most in a ND victory since Ron Powlus finished with 291 yards in a 42-15 win over Northwestern in 1994….Prosise is 6th in the nation in average total yards per game with 150.3 and 11th in per carry yards, 7.64....ND moved up in the polls with the Georgia Tech win. They are ranked 6th by AP and 8th in the xxx poll...The game between ND and the Minutemen was set up a few years ago when former Irish offensive coordinator, Charley Molnar, was head coach at UMass. He only was there for two years, 2010-11, and is now receivers coach at Idaho....ND is favored by 27 points plus today. But the Minutemen have nothing to lose so they will pull out of the stops with trick plays, etc. ND just needs to settle in and do business as usual and not look ahead to the big showdown at Clemson next week. In my preseason picks I have the Irish winning today. No reason to change that, like I did last week.