Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 SEPT. 16, 2019 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Three consecutive lost fumbles on three plays is an unusual occurrence, but it ended up giving Notre Dame a huge boost right before halftime — because two of the three were in its favor. With the score tied at 14, Notre Dame senior safety Alohi Gilman stripped Louisville quarter- back Jawon Pass from the football on a scramble and also recovered it at the Cardinals' 26-yard line with 1:20 left until halftime. Alas, Notre Dame signal-caller Ian Book lost the football on his own scramble on the next play, with Louisville recovering at its 24-yard line with 1:09 remaining. Finally, a low snap to Pass out of the shotgun also was muffed, and Irish sophomore linebacker Jack Lamb pounced on the ball at the Cardinals' 20-yard at the 1:03 mark. Four plays later on third-and-goal from the 11, Book pump-faked to his right and ran a quarter- back draw to his left for the touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. The miscues didn't necessarily demoralize Lou- isville, but they were the ideal game-changer for the Irish right before the intermission. STAT OF THE GAME Louisville totaled 163 yards on its first two drives while tallying touchdowns to gain a 14-7 advantage. After the initial surge and jolting of the Fighting Irish, the Cardinals were held to three points and 220 yards while getting out- scored 28-3 in the final 49:08. In some respects, it was similar to the USC regular-season finale last year when the Trojans used a short, quick passing attack versus Notre Dame's softer coverage to build a 10-0 lead in the first 19 minutes. Thereafter, Fighting Irish defensive coordina- tor Clark Lea and his troops made the necessary adjustments, kept their poise and outscored the Trojans 24-7 over the final 41 minutes to pick up the victory and secure a College Football Playoff berth. It also helped that Louisville went through a "fumbilitis" stage, putting the ball on the ground five times and losing three of them to the Irish, the most damaging by quarterback Jawon Pass at his own 20-yard line to set up the go-ahead touchdown with 17 seconds remaining in the first half. SHORT-YARDAGE WOES The final stats showed Notre Dame with 230 rushing yards and 5.5 yards per carry, which looks fine on the surface. However, the inability to con- vert several short-yardage situations helped keep Louisville in the game perhaps a little longer than it should have. • In the second quarter on fourth-and-four from the Cardinals' 38-yard line, a Book pass to fifth-year senior wide receiver Chris Finke picked up only two yards. It actually had been third-and- two the previous play, but senior running back Tony Jones Jr. lost two yards after strong penetra- tion by the Louisville front. • Still in the second quarter, on third-and-one from the Irish 24-yard line, sophomore running back Jahmir Smith was stopped for no gain, forc- ing a punt. (The Irish also had second-and-one on that series.) • In the third quarter, on third-and-one from his own 43-yard line Jones was stuffed for no gain, resulting in another punt. • Late in the fourth quarter on third-and-two at the Louisville 38-yard line, sophomore running back C'Bo Flemister was thrown for a three-yard loss. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI OFFENSE: RB TONY JONES JR. The senior earned the start for the Irish as part of a two-back offense and led the ground attack with 15 carries for 110 yards (7.3 yards per attempt) and one touchdown. Jones displayed patience when it was needed, but when holes opened up he was decisive and ran with authority. His 11-yard scoring run late in the first quarter evened the score at 14-14 after the Irish had fallen behind. He made plays between the tackles and on perimeter runs, and also thrived in the pass game. Jones' blitz pickup in the third quarter gave senior quarterback Ian Book time to hit soph- omore tight end Tommy Tremble for a touchdown up the seam. DEFENSE: S ALOHI GILMAN In a sloppy night for the Irish defense, the senior safety was impactful on the back end. He was beat on a third-down cross- ing route, but outside of that he was good in coverage and played the alleys quite well in the run game. Gilman spent a lot of time in the box against the Louisville ground game, made good decisions, played the quarterback runs well and finished with a team-high 10 tackles (one for loss). In addition, his second-quarter strip and fumble recovery of quarterback Jawon Pass deep in Louisville territory was a momentum changer for the Irish defense. SPECIAL TEAMS: P JAY BRAMBLETT The freshman punter averaged just 39.3 yards on his six boots, but Louisville did not gain a single return yard on those half dozen attempts. That was due mainly to Bramblett's ability to place the ball and get a lot of hang time, which allowed his coverage units to get down and make plays. TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY BRYAN DRISKELL Senior safety Alohi Gilman finished with a team-high 10 tackles (one for a loss), and added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. PHOTO BY MIKE MILLER