Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 OCT. 15, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT A 75-yard Virginia Tech touch- down drive that took only 56 sec- onds and was tallied with 12 seconds left until halftime pulled the Hokies within 17-16 and created a height- ened sense of anticipation in Lane Stadium. Plus, Virginia Tech was get- ting the ball to start the second half. The home team drove to the Irish 44 to start the third quarter before the defense stiffened, but then Notre Dame was pinned back at its 5-yard line and teetering on the brink — es- pecially when senior running back Dexter Williams was thrown for a two-yard loss on first down. The Irish then came right back with Williams, who burst through a hole on the left side and took ad- vantage of over-pursuit with a 97- yard touchdown gallop. That play stunned Lane Stadium and began the 28-7 Irish onslaught in the sec- ond half. STAT OF THE GAME This season marks only the 13th time in the 69 seasons since 1950 that the Fighting Irish have been able to achieve a 6-0 start. What is more notable is that in 10 of those 12 previous seasons Notre Dame eventually elevated to the No. 1 position in the polls later in the year — and either played against the No. 1 team or was com- peting to remain No. 1 in its final game of the season. In the 29 seasons since 1990, this is the fifth 6-0 start for the Irish, and three of them have been under head coach Brian Kelly the past seven years (2012 and 2014 also). Notre Dame likewise began 6-0 three times in a seven-year stretch with Ara Parseghian (1964, 1966 and 1970) and three times in six years with Lou Holtz (1988, 1989 and 1993). HALFTIME REPORT With the first half of the 2018 reg- ular season completed, we are con- fident in stating that everything is in place for this to be head coach Brian Kelly's best all-around team in his nine seasons at Notre Dame. The defense might not be as dominant as the 12-1 unit in 2012, the running game won't be as pro- lific as last year 's edition, and the passing attack might not necessar- ily boast a combination like the one in 2015 that featured future second- round pick DeShone Kizer passing to future first-round selection Will Fuller. However, in totality — including experience, overall balance, hunger, schedule, lessons learned from the previous year, strength and condi- tioning, and chemistry and produci- tion among the coordinators — the ceiling to achieve the most is with this 2018 crew. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI OFFENSE: WR MILES BOYKIN For the second straight week, the senior wideout took over a game and dominated. He finished with eight catches for 117 yards and two scores, while making plays in every aspect of the game. Boykin made chain-moving quick grabs, he beat Virginia Tech down the field and he had a game-changing block. His 40-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter put Notre Dame up 31-16, and he fol- lowed that up with a five-yard touchdown catch two series later to put the game away. However, his biggest play might have been a block. On senior running back Dexter Williams' 97-yard touchdown run, Boykin came down inside and had a block that created a running lane for Williams to burst through for the game-altering play. DEFENSE: CB JULIAN LOVE Fifth-year senior Buck linebacker Drue Tranquill was all over the field for Notre Dame, and junior defensive end Khalid Kareem came up big as well. But the junior cornerback gets the defensive game ball. Love returned a fumble that Kareem forced for a 42-yard touchdown, putting the Irish up 17-9 after Virginia Tech had gained momentum in the game. The Hokies tried to test Love deep, but had no luck. Love was all over the Hokie wideouts in the pass game, finishing with an interception and one pass broken up in the second half. His seven tackles are indicative of how well he performed against the perimeter runs and coming up to take on quick throws to the boundary. SPECIAL TEAMS: K JUSTIN YOON The coverage units were solid for Notre Dame, but there were no true standouts. The senior kicker nailed his lone field goal of the game and was a perfect 6 of 6 on extra point attempts. Yoon's nine points versus the Hokies gave him 322 for his career, sur- passing running back Allen Pinkett's 320 from 1982-85 to become the school's all-time leading scorer. TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY BRYAN DRISKELL Senior kicker Justin Yoon became Notre Dame's all-time scoring leader with his nine-point performance versus the Hokies, pushing his career total to 322. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA