Rees leads Irish over Temple

SOUTH BEND

It could have been better. There were flaws.

But it also could have been a lot worse.

The Notre Dame football team's start to the 2013 season Saturday was a step in the right direction.

A 28-6 Irish victory over Temple gave Notre Dame a comfortable place in which to begin its preparation for next week's showdown at Michigan.

Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees (11 of 16), aided by the Owls' penchant for blown assignments and missed tackles, threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the first half, sparking a 21-6 intermission advantage.

DaVaris Daniels had a pair of 32-yard TD receptions and tight end Troy Niklas caught a pass over the middle and ran through two prospective tacklers on the way to a 66-yard score.

Temple's ability to move the ball against the Irish defense may have given some reason for concern. The Owls had a nine-play, 78-yard march that yielded a first-half touchdown, then drove to the Irish 6 before stalling out to start the second half.

Temple had more than 200 passing yards against an Irish defense that was supposed to be better than that.

Rees, who played into the fourth quarter, had a career-high 346 passing yards as the Irish generated more than 500 yards of total offense.