Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1170354
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 30, 2019 21 BY LOU SOMOGYI S eldom is the No. 7-ranked team in the country a two- touchdown underdog, but that's how oddsmakers rated it when Notre Dame entered the bed- lam at No. 3-ranked Georgia Sept. 21. The odds might not have been with them, but in the end the truly "Fight- ing" Irish had Georgia on the ropes before once again unable to land the knockout punch. A fierce Notre Dame rally in the fourth quarter fell just short as Geor- gia prevailed over the Fighting Irish 23-17 in front of a state-record 93,246 in attendance at Sanford Stadium. Trailing 23-10 with 6:54 remain- ing, senior quarterback Ian Book drove Notre Dame 75 yards for a touchdown on a four-yard pass to classmate Chase Claypool to cut the deficit to 23-17 with 3:12 left in the contest. After the Notre Dame defense forced a three-and-out, the offense took possession at its 48-yard line at the two-minute mark and with no timeouts. The Irish drove to Geor- gia's 38-yard before facing fourth- and-eight there. That's when linebackers Nolan Smith and Jermaine Johnson came through the line unblocked, forcing Book to scramble backwards and heave a "Hail Mary" pass in the di- rection of a double-covered Clay- pool near the 10-yard line. Bulldogs' cornerback D.J. Daniel was credited with the pass broken up with 48 sec- onds remaining. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said it was one of the most physical games he's seen in three de- cades of coaching, and he learned more about the identity of an Irish team that shouldn't fall too far from the top-10 ranking it had entering the game. "We're a physical team, we're a fast team, we're a team that is persistent — will play for four quarters," Kelly said. "I asked our coaches, 'Raise your hand if you'd like that to work with,' and everybody raised [his] hand, obviously." FIRST QUARTER: 0-0 Top Moment: A 20-yard Georgia punt on its first possession set up Notre Dame at the Bulldogs' 40-yard line. On fourth-and-two from the 32, an early shotgun snap bounced off Book and the ensuing scramble re- sulted in an incomplete pass. Standout Performer: Notre Dame's pass rush, coverage and tackling in open space were outstanding. The Irish defense limited Georgia quar- terback Jake Fromm to 16 yards on 6-of-7 passing that did no damage. Stats: Notre Dame had 81 total yards, with Book completing 7 of 11 throws for 65 yards, and the five rush- ing attempts gaining 16 yards. Geor- gia had only 34 total yards, with 18 yards on the ground on four carries. Items: Junior tight end Cole Kmet, back from a broken collarbone suf- fered on Aug. 8, caught three passes for 33 yards on the first Irish series. SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME, 10-7 Top Moment: Georgia return man Tyler Simmons fumbled a punt by freshman Jay Bramblett that senior wide receiver Chase Claypool re- covered at the Georgia 8-yard line. After a Bulldogs pass interference, Notre Dame scored on fourth-and- goal from the 1-yard line when an intended pass to Tony Jones Jr. was instead caught one-handed by Kmet to give the Fighting Irish a 7-0 lead at the 10:39 mark. Standout Performer: The Book-to- Kmet connection continued to shine. Book completed 16 of 24 passes for 146 yards in the first half, with Kmet grabbing seven for 68 yards, high- lighted by the touchdown. Stats: Notre Dame had 163 total yards (146 passing and 17 rushing) to Georgia's 114 (59 on 11-of-12 passing, plus 55 rushing). Items: Following Notre Dame's touchdown, Georgia drove 75 yards, with Fromm completing all five passes for 43 yards, and he added a six-yard run … Running back D'Andre Swift capped the march on a three-yard run through the middle with 2:27 remaining … Notre Dame then responded with a 66-yard drive, highlighted by 28-yard completions to Kmet and sophomore Lawrence Keys III to set up Jonathan Doerer's 27-yard field goal as time expired in the half. THIRD QUARTER: GEORGIA, 13-10 Top Moment: On Notre Dame's first series of the second half fol- lowing a Bulldogs' punt, Georgia sophomore defensive back Divaad Wilson intercepted a Book pass that bounced off fifth-year senior wide receiver Chris Finke, and he returned it 11 yards to Notre Dame's 22-yard line, bobbling it most of the time and almost fumbling the ball. However, a personal foul on the Bulldogs on that possession forced them to settle for a 40-yard field goal by Rodrigo Blankenship with 8:31 left to knot the score at 10. Standout Performer: Wilson led a unit that allowed only 19 total yards in the quarter, intercepting the afore- mentioned pass, making a tackle on third-and-seven to force another punt, and breaking up a pass to end a third. Stats: Book was only 2-of-6 passing for seven yards with an interception in the quarter. Georgia outgained Notre Dame 131-19 in total yards during these 15 minutes. Items: Georgia took its first lead at 4:21 on a 31-yard field goal by Blan- kenship, but on the previous play a third-and-three pass by a scrambling Fromm was briefly in Simmons' hands in the end zone but broken up by sophomore corner TaRiq Bracy as both were falling out of bounds. FOURTH QUARTER: GEORGIA, 23-17 Top Moment: Trailing 23-17, Notre Dame took possession at its 48-yard line before running out of downs after a desperation lob pass by Book, while DAWGFIGHT Heavy underdog Notre Dame once again had to settle for another close call in a 23-17 defeat at No. 3 Georgia Senior quarterback Ian Book put forth a valiant effort versus the Bulldogs despite coming up short in the end, completing 29 of 47 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns. PHOTO BY KEN WARD/WPG