Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1316443
28 DEC. 19, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Rookie defensive tackle Rylie Mills also displayed why he has worked his way into the rotation. Against Syracuse, he had a key run stop, tack- ling Tucker for a one-yard loss on second-and-10. Freshman phenom tight end Mi- chael Mayer continues to be an im- portant part of the offense and fin- ished with five receptions for 36 yards versus the Orange. NEXT UP: COMPETING FOR THE CROWN With the Dec. 12 game against Wake Forest already canceled, Notre Dame finished its one-year stopover in the ACC with a perfect 10-0 re- cord, earning an invitation to Char- lotte, N.C., for a chance at the confer- ence crown. "We're obviously extremely grate- ful for Commissioner [John] Swof- ford for giving us this opportunity," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "Then it's like anything else, we've taken full advantage of the opportunity. We've played the 10 games that we have in front of us and now we're playing for an ACC championship." The Irish now face the difficult task of defeating Clemson for a second time this season and dethroning the five-time defending ACC defending champion Tigers from the top of the conference. The good news is that, even with a loss, the Irish have a strong shot at still making the College Football Playoff, but the only guaranteed path comes from a victory. Notre Dame will have two weeks to prepare for Clemson. Prep began with an off day Dec. 6, where the Irish players had the opportunity to rest, visit the training room and re- ceive treatment for bumps, bruises and other lingering physical ail- ments. Later, that evening, the team met for a victory meal. The next day, it was back to work. Notre Dame spent time in the weight room and reviewed the film from the victory over Syracuse be- fore another day for rest and recov- ery on Dec. 8. Throughout the rest of the week, the Irish will devote additional preparation to Clemson, diving into scouting reports and practicing against the Tigers' defensive schemes and playbook on offense. From there, Notre Dame will re- sume a normal week of practice. ✦ The Fighting Irish completed the regular season at 10-0 overall and 9-0 in ACC, and will take on Clemson for the conference crown Dec. 19 in Charlotte, N.C. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS NOTRE DAME VS. SYRACUSE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 9:57 7:16 7:17 9:20 17:13 16:37 33:50 Third-Down Conversions 3-5 1-3 1-3 2-4 4-8 3-7 7-15 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 1-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 1-2 Average Field Position ND-12 ND-40 ND-48 ND-21 ND-28 ND-38 ND-33 Syracuse 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 5:03 7:44 7:43 5:40 12:47 13:23 26:10 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 3-5 0-3 0-2 5-9 0-5 5-14 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-0 1-1 1-1 Average Field Position SU-23 SU-29 SU-30 SU-15 SU-27 SU-25 SU-26 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 3-7 ND43 Book pass complete to Skowronek for 29 yards to the SU28 • 1-10 SU28 Book run for 28 yards touchdown • 1-10 SU28 Book pass complete to McKinley for 28 yards and a touchdown • 2-6 SU26 Book pass complete to McKinley for 26 yards and a touchdown • 2-17 ND6 Tyree rush for 94 yards and a touchdown Syracuse • 3-4 SU28 Culpepper pass complete to Tucker for 37 yards to the ND35 • 1-10 ND40 Tucker rush for 40 yards and a touchdown • 2-9 SU20 Lutz rush for 80 yards and a touchdown PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND SU Nega ve 8 5 0-5 36 38 6-9 13 9 10-19 11 10 20-29 8 0 30-39 0 1 40-49 0 1 50 or more 1 1 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 2 1 1 0 Syracuse 1 1 0 0 INSTANT TAKEAWAYS FROM FORMER NOTRE DAME CAPTAIN LINEBACKER MIKE GOOLSBY • "The seniors showed up today. The studs, the captains of the team, played really well today. Ian Book was tremendous. Javon McKinley, Daelin Hayes and Jeremiah Owusu- Koramoah all played well. It was a fitting end for these guys." • "It was a slow start and sometimes that happens on Senior Day. I was guilty of that on my Senior Day inside Notre Dame Stadium. You get into your feelings, and you can get too overwhelmed with thinking about what you have been through and maybe lose sight of the task at hand. The win was still convincing enough for me." Join us after every game for the Live Show on YouTube! BlueandGold.com's Mike Singer and former Fighting Irish captain and linebacker Mike Goolsby will recap the game and give their instant analysis. www.youtube.com/c/bluegoldillustrated