The football team may have been 1,000 miles away from South Bend in San Antonio, Texas, but homesickness did not prevent the Irish from dominating Washington State at the Alamo Dome Saturday.
In the first off-site home game televised during primetime hours, the Irish came on strong from the beginning, a change from their recent pattern of nail biting wins.
"I was really happy to win by more than seven points," senior Alicia Morgan said. "It was a lot less stressful."
The Irish took an early lead with Golden Tate catching two touchdown passes, includinga 50-yard Hail Mary.
"I was happy that after so many close wins, we got back to the really good start we had the beginning of the season," sophomore Marcel Frenkel said.
After the team had taken a commanding lead, coaches began to use younger players, many of whom had never played in a college game before. Sophomore wide receiver John Goodman caught his first touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.
"I thought it was awesome," junior Kara Tharpe said. "I know Goodman, so when he scored that touchdown, I was running up and down the halls."
The primetime start came in the middle of Halloween weekend for students, but that didn't deter many from watching.
"It didn't really matter … I was just glad we won," Frenkel said.
Members of the Notre Dame Band traveled to San Antonio this weekend, and were beginning the trip home at 4:30 a.m. on Sunday morning. The band was there not only to show support for the team, but also participated in exhibitions at local high schools and played on the San Antonio Riverwalk.
"San Antonio was the most hospitable city I've traveled to with the band," senior Band member Catherine Carrell said. "The fans roared like I've never heard them roar before."
The game at the Alamodome was the beginning of a series of off-site home games, with the intent to play at least one per year, as stated by the Notre Dame athletics Web site, und.com.
The Irish play Navy at home next weekend, with kickoff scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
