Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 18, 2021 11 UNDER THE DOME Several Roster Changes, Serious Injuries Arise After Season Opener Life comes at you fast in college football. One game into the 2021 season, Notre Dame's linebacker unit, receiving corps and offensive line already have undergone significant change from where they stood in fall camp. Three linebackers have suffered season-ending injuries — junior Marist Liufau (lower leg fracture), senior Paul Moala (Achilles tear) and senior Shayne Simon (labrum tear). Liufau was injured on the final day of camp. Moala and Simon suffered injuries in the season opener at Florida State and had surgery shortly after. Moala's injury is his second Achilles tear in as many seasons. "We're all very disappointed for Paul," Kelly said. "He worked so hard to get back on the field. We love Paul and he's going to be missed. He's a guy we were counting on." On offense, freshman left tackle Blake Fisher will miss about eight weeks due to a me- niscus tear suffered at Florida State in his first career start. Sophomore tight end Kevin Bauman had surgery to repair a leg fracture and is expected to miss about six weeks. The shake-up at wide receiver, though, is due to a pair of departures. One player, sophomore Xavier Watts, has moved to defense, where he'll play rover. Another, senior Lawrence Keys III, has moved on from the program. Keys played five snaps at Florida State, while Watts did not see the field. "Lawrence Keys is no longer on our roster," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "He has chosen to pursue finishing his degree. He's taking 18 hours this semester, which would allow him to get his degree after the semester. "He's going to evaluate what he wants to do after that and whether football is in the cards for him or not." With Keys and Watts no longer in the picture, Notre Dame is down to seven scholar- ship receivers. Three are freshmen. Four are seniors or graduate students. Kelly indi- cated two of those freshmen, Lorenzo Styles Jr. and Deion Colzie, are in line for playing time bumps and will not redshirt this year. "They're ready to play," Kelly said. "Let's get them going." At tackle, sophomore Michael Carmody stepped in for Fisher at Florida State and was listed atop the depth chart for the Sept. 11 game against Toledo. — Patrick Engel NOTRE DAME AND BYU TO PLAY IN LAS VEGAS NEXT SEASON Notre Dame's 2022 schedule is complete. And the final addition to it will send the Irish to a state they've never played in be- fore. Notre Dame will play BYU in Las Vegas next season at Allegiant Stadium, home of the NFL's Raiders, according to a report from The Las Vegas Review-Journal. It will be part of the Shamrock Series and rep- resent the Irish's first game in the state of Nevada. A date has not been announced, but Notre Dame and BYU's schedules have common openings on Oct. 8 and Oct. 29. The game is the completion of a three- game contract that was originally a six-year pact, but reduced when Notre Dame struck its partial scheduling agreement with the ACC. The Irish and Cougars played the first two games in 2012 and 2013 in South Bend. Both were Notre Dame wins. Notre Dame has a 6-2 lead in the all-time series against BYU that dates back to 1992. Discussions between the two sides to play the final game had intensified in re- cent months, which BYU athletics director Tom Holmoe acknowledged in June. In July, BYU reportedly reached out to Notre Dame about playing a game in 2022. "There's been some really good discus- sions with Notre Dame," Holmoe said on BYUtv in June. "In years past, it's been crick- ets on the set. But I would say that there are good discussions. I think we're getting close to being able to put together a game that would benefit both of our schools." The result is a neutral-site game in the near future that fills the 2022 schedule for both teams. The only remaining detail to solidify is when it will be played. Notre Dame's 2022 season begins Sept. 3 at Ohio State. The Irish host Marshall Sept. 10 and California Sept. 17, before a trip to North Carolina Sept. 24. Stanford (Oct. 15) and UNLV (Oct. 22) both visit Notre Dame Stadium in October, the only two games currently on the schedule that month for the Irish. Notre Dame then hosts Clemson Nov. 5, plays Navy in Baltimore Nov. 12 and travels to Los Angeles to face USC to end the regular season Nov. 26. Scheduled 2022 Notre Dame games against Boston College (home) and Syra- cuse (road) have not been announced. Nei- ther team has dates for its 2022 ACC sched- ule or set games on Notre Dame open dates Oct. 1, Oct. 8 or Nov. 19. Boston College plays UConn Oct. 29, when Notre Dame is also open. Syracuse does not yet have a game set for the day. — Patrick Engel Senior wide receiver Lawrence Keys III is sitting out the remainder of the 2021 season and will focus on graduating in December. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS