NOTRE DAME, Ind. – One drive by the Notre Dame offense helped the Irish take a 14-3 lead into the lockeroom at halftime.

Realistically, however, the Irish offense hasn’t been very good through the first 30 minutes. Thankfully for Notre Dame, it’s defense and special teams has been solid.

• For the 25^th time in his career, Michael Floyd hauled in a touchdown pass to extend Notre Dame’s lead over Utah to 14-0 with 12:25 to play in the opening half. Floyd has nine touchdowns this season , which ties him with former teammate Golden Tate for seven place on the all-time list. His 25^th TD catch leaves him one behind Tate for second on the career list and two shy of Jeff Samardzja’s 27 for the top spot.

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  The Irish finished the first quarter with only nine yards of total offense on 10 offensive plays. On its touchdown drive, it went 61 yards in three plays.

• With just over nine minutes to play in the opening half, Utah has already committed 10 penalties for 65 yards. Several of them have been drive killers.

• Notre Dame players continue to wear a shamrock with the initials “DS” inside of it as a tribute to Declan Sullivan, who was killed in an accident while he was filming at practice. Notre Dame officials said that they would not release information about the incident until the investigation into it was completed.

• With Notre Dame playing well on defense and its special teams performing well too, it is time for the offense to step up and get the job done. Despite playing nearly penalty free in the first half, the Irish just have not been consistent on offense.