Notre Dame improved its record to 3-0 last weekn but didn’t impress for the second week in a row. The Irish offense is struggling, to say the least, showing some promising flashes but then stalling at key times.

So far the Irish have won, but it hasn’t been because of the offense. It’s been the defense leading the way so far — although it still has a way to go as well. In the last two weeks, against underdogs Ball State and Vanderbilt, the “D” did enough to preserve the victory. That won’t happen every week so the Irish better find their offense or this season could go down hill very quickly.

The promising flashes for the offense includes the fact the offensive line, still trying to find a identity, did not give up a sack against the No. 3 rated team in the country in sacking the opponents’ QBs. Also, Vanderbilt entered the game as the No. 18 team in the nation in rush defense, but ND managed to improve it yards per carry to 5.1.

Tony Jones Jr. has moved into the number one running back spot. Last week, he had 118 yards rushing on 17 carries. That total was the most for an Irish player since Josh Adams got 202 yards on 27 carries against N.C. State in a 35-14 Irish win last season.

Quarterback Brandon Wimbush continued to non-impress. The Irish used more running plays for him in the game to try and get some life in the offense. Wimbush finished at 13 of 23 for 122 yards passing, and rushed for 84 yards on 19 carries. When you have to use your QB so much in the running game, you know the offense is struggling.

Defensively, Drue Tranquill had nine tackles and Tony Pride with added seven. Te’von Coney had five tackles, but his field leadership was a key.

More on the game later.

Today the Irish are in one of those “trap game” situations as they play their first away game of the season in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This is a trap game because it’s a situation where ND enters the favorite and looking ahead to a big play date next week with Stanford. Looking ahead sometimes cost you the game you’re playing.

The Irish face a Wake Forest team that is 2-1 with wins over Tulane, 23-17, and Towson, 51-20, and a loss last week to Boston College, 41-34. The Demon Deacons are a team that runs a lot of plays in a game because of a fast-pace offense. Wake Forest ran 105 plays against Boston College last week and ranks first in the nation in plays per game at 103. Notre Dame yielded 97 plays to lowly Ball State and ranks 115th in defensive plays per game 80.3.

That means the Irish defense will be on the field a lot and Wake Forest makes no bones about it, its offense is designed to wear down the opposing defense. How do you counter that — by having your offense on the field for long periods of times, not quick three and outs, which has been occurring through the first three games this year.

Sam Hartman leads the Deacons passing attack. So far this year he has completed 68 of 123 throws for 834 yards and six TDs. He has rushed for 193 yards on 41 carries. The top backs are Matt Collurn (196 yards, 48 carries) and Code Curney (300 yards on 53 carries). The top receivers are Greg Cortch (28 catches, 336 yards) and Sage Surrat (12 catches, 263 yards). Abe Bachman has three scores on just nine catches.

ND leads the series, 4-0. The two teams played last year with ND winning, 48-37.

The game will be televised by ABC-TV with a 12:10 p.m. kickoff.

IRISH NOTES ... Grad senior and captain Tyler Newsome set a new school record for punting in a game with a 59.6 per punt average against Vanderbilt. A 63-yarder late in the fourth quarter pushed Vanderbilt back to its 10-yard line to start its final drive .... ND has started the season with a “D” rarity. The Irish defense has held the opposition to 17 points or fewer in the first three games .... Kicker Justin Yoon hit on field goals of 26, 33 and 46 yards but missed a 32-yarder. He moved past Kyle Brindza, 2012-14, and Craig Hentrich, 1989-92, for second place on the all-time ND points scored list. With 297 points, he now trails only running back Allen Pinkett, 1982-85, on the all-time scoring list. Pinkett had 320 points. Jafa Armstrong had 46 yards on 11 carries. Wide receiver Chris Finke caught five passes for just six yards .... Through the first three games ND has outscored its opponents, 31-3, in the first quarter .... Tight end Cole Kmet will miss his second straight game after suffering a high ankle sprain Sept. 8 .... Notre Dame is one of 10 teams in the FBS that has yet to yield a single 20-yard rush to an opponent thus far in 2018 .... Notre Dame has scored within the first four minutes of a game on eight different occasions over the past two seasons .... Notre Dame is one of six teams in the current national top 10 to have defeated a fellow top-25 foe thus far in 2018 .... Linebacker Drue Tranquill ranks fourth among all defensive players in the nation with an average of 7.0 solo tackles per game .... Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson is 0-7 against top 10 teams at Wake Forest and 2-11 against the Top 25 ....There is some drama for today’s game. It surfaced yesterday in the South Bend Tribune that backup QB Ian Book may start today in place of Wimbush. Head coach Brian Kelly response to the rumor was that “both quarterbacks are ready to play.” He added that he expects both to see action today ... In my preseason picks I have the Irish at 2-1 today because I predicted Michigan would win the first game. This is a very dangerous game for the Irish and one I feel could very well end up a loss. If ND struggles on offense again today, then it will be an upset loss for the Irish.