SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The beginning of the Malik Zaire era couldn’t have gone any better for Notre Dame.
Zaire completed 19 of 22 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns to power the Irish to a 38-3 win over the Texas Longhorns Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium. Making his home debut, Zaire was ruthlessly efficient working off a ground attack that carried 40 times for 184 yards with him in the game.
Junior running back Tarean Folston was injured in the first quarter and missed the remainder of the game — he gingerly limped to the locker room with a wrap around his right knee — but converted slot receiver C.J. Prosise (20 carries, 98 yards) and true freshman Josh Adams (two touchdowns) more than picked up the slack.
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Zaire and Notre Dame struck first, with the left-handed quarterback finding Will Fuller for a 16-yard score halfway through the first quarter. Later in the first, Adams scythed his way into the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown on his first collegiate carry.
Freshman Justin Yoon connected on a 38-yard field goal, his first try and make of his Irish career, midway through the second quarter. Texas kicker Nick Rose missed a 52-yard attempt as time expired in the first half — this after hitting both attempts from that distance after Notre Dame called timeout.
Texas got on the board in the third quarter when Rose connected from 41 yards, but Zaire quickly responded by finding a wide-open Fuller for a 66-yard touchdown. Fuller picked up where he left off last year, reeling in seven passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
Zaire flipped a six-yard touchdown toss to Chris Brown early in the fourth quarter to put an exclamation point on Notre Dame’s biggest season-opening blowout since beating Navy by 40 in Ireland to begin the 2012 season.
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Zaire’s 86 percent completion rate stands as the second-highest in program history, only behind Steve Beuerlein, who completed 10 of 11 passes against Colorado in 1984.
Notre Dame’s defense made plays all night, racking up four sacks and seven tackles for a loss while holding Texas to 2.95 yards per play before garbage time kicked in during the fourth quarter. Longhorns quarterbacks Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard had abysmal evenings, combining to complete 5 of 16 passes for 78 yards with no touchdowns.
With just under 11 minutes left in the game, Notre Dame was able to give backup quarterback DeShone Kizer his collegiate debut. It was a best-case scenario on a night in which Notre Dame looked every bit like an early-season playoff contender.