Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 NOV. 12, 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FLORIDA STATE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Through eight games, the Seminoles had yet to surpass the 140-yard rushing mark in a game, which put a great deal of pressure on its pass of- fense. Teams know that Florida State struggles to run, so it can focus more attention on handling the pass game. The Noles have thrown for 266.0 yards per game through eight contests, which ranked 35th in the land. Senior quarterback Deondre Francois sur- passed 300 passing yards in three of his first eight contests and had 294 yards in another. Florida State won each of those games. When he has time to throw, Francois has several skilled weapons to get the ball to. Senior Nyqwan Murray is his top target, pacing the Seminoles with 40 catches and 536 receiving yards through eight games. Notably, he averaged 98.3 receiving yards per game in Florida State's first four wins of the season. Freshman Tamorrion Terry is Florida State's big- play threat, averaging 20.2 yards on his 18 catches through eight games. The 6-4 Terry turned five of his grabs into touchdowns. The problem for Francois is he hasn't always had much time to throw. He was sacked 23 times in the first eight games, which ranked FSU 106th in the country, and many of those hits were punish- ing blows. Notre Dame has been a top passing defense all season. Through eight games the Irish ranked 32nd in the land in passing yards allowed (194.4), but their other numbers are even better. They ranked fifth in the land in yards allowed per attempt (5.5), fifth in yards allowed per completion (9.8), fourth in touchdown passes allowed (five) and eighth in pass efficiency defense (102.9 rating). The pass rush has been a driving force for the defense. After eight games, Notre Dame's top four pass rushers — Julian Okwara, Jerry Tillery, Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes — have combined for 70 quarterback hurries, 19 quarterback hits and 14 sacks according to Pro Football Focus. For perspective, last season Notre Dame's top four pass rushers had 75 hurries, 15 hits and 10 sacks for the entire season. Junior cornerback Julian Love has been Notre Dame's top cover man, ranking fifth nationally with 12 passes defended through eight games. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. FLORIDA STATE RUN DEFENSE This is the best good-on-good matchup of the game. One area where Florida State has shined this season is its rush defense. The Seminoles struggled to defend the pass through the first eight games, but its outstanding rush defense numbers are more about how good they are at shutting down the run as it is teams throwing effectively. Through their first eight games, the Seminoles tied for 12th in the nation while giving up just 102.9 yards per game on the ground. The yards per rush number was even better, with opponents go- ing for just 2.7 yards per attempt (fifth nationally). Sophomore cornerback Levonta Taylor, who recorded 19 tackles and one interception during Florida State's 4-4 start, is arguably the most physically gifted player at the position Notre Dame will face this season. PHOTO BY ROSS OBLEY/FSU SPORTS INFORMATION GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 228 Sr. 4 Kevin Austin 6-2 210 Fr. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 18 Joe Wilkins 6-1½ 185 Fr. LT 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 308 Jr. 55 Jarrett Patterson 6-4½ 290 Fr. LG 69 Aaron Banks 6-6 319 So. 76 Dillan Gibbons 6-4 313 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 306 5th-Sr. 61 Colin Grunhard 6-0½ 280 So. RG 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 295 Sr. or 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-6 316 Jr. RT 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 295 So. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 314 So. TE 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 247 Sr. 84 Cole Kmet 6-5½ 258 So. or 82 Nic Weishar 6-5 246 5th-Sr. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 227 Jr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 192 So. QB 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 222 Sr. RB 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Sr. or 8 Jafar Armstrong 6-1 218 So. or 6 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 220 Jr. or 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 241 Jr. or 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 265 Jr. DT 99 Jerry Tillery 6-7 305 Sr. 57 Jayson Ademilola 6-3 284 Fr. NT 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-4 295 5th-Sr. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 295 So. DE 53 Khalid Kareem 6-4 265 Jr. 91 Ade Ogundeji 6-4½ 255 Jr. Buck 23 Drue Tranquill 6-2 235 5th-Sr. 2 J. Genmark Heath 6-1 225 So. Mike 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 240 Sr. 52 Bo Bauer 6-3 225 Fr. or 45 Jonathan Jones 5-11½ 227 Jr. ROV 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 225 Sr. 33 Shayne Simon 6-3 222 Fr. CB 27 Julian Love 5-11 193 Jr. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 211 Jr. S 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 200 Jr. S 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 205 Jr. 24 Nick Coleman 6-0 194 Sr. or 3 Houston Griffith 6-0 205 Fr. CB 5 Troy Pride Jr. 5-11½ 190 Jr. 35 TaRiq Bracy 5-10 170 Fr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 214 5th-Sr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-11 181 Sr. KO 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 200 So. or 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 198 Sr. H 17 Nolan Henry 6-0 202 Sr. 12 Ian Book 6-0 203 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 235 Jr. 65 Michael Vinson 6-2 228 Fr. KR 87 Michael Young 5-10 185 So. 3 Avery Davis 5-11 204 So. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 Sr. 11 Alohi Gilman 5-10½ 202 Jr. Special Teams