Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1418303
26 OCT. 23, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Buchner, put the Irish ahead 14-10 with 32 seconds left in the first half. The sec- ond, a 10-yard rush only Williams and a select few other backs in the country would have scored on, gave the Irish a 21-16 advantage in the third quarter. "I told Buchner pre-snap, 'Give me that ball,'" Williams said of his tantalizing, tackle-breaking touchdown carry." "That was beast mode for him," head coach Brian Kelly added. "He had an edge about him today." Williams' touchdowns both came in critical junctures in a game ultimately decided by a field goal, but the momen- tum of the scores could last long beyond the Irish's trip to Blacksburg. Williams is ar- guably the best skill position player on the Notre Dame of- fense, and the ability to con- fidently and consistently use him could go a long way in the Irish trying to run a second half of the season schedule that's, well, entirely runnable. Notre Dame didn't have many believing that could be true after a Week 5 loss to Cincinnati. Williams didn't have many instances when he could assuredly say "give me that ball" either. The Irish flat-out couldn't run for the vast majority of the first half of the season. But the ground game sprang to life against Virginia Tech with a sea- son-high 180 rushing yards. The Notre Dame offensive line might have finally taken the step forward many have been waiting for since that unit started the season with rough outing after rough outing. "A big step," Williams said. "And I feel like we're taking steps each and every game. That jell that we've always been talking about was there. We were pop- ping. We probably averaged five yards per carry." PARTICIPATION CHART OFFENSE QB: JACK COAN, Tyler Buchner RB: KYREN WILLIAMS, Chris Tyree, Logan Diggs WR: KEVIN AUSTIN JR., Deion Colzie TE: GEORGE TAKACS, Mitchell Evans, Cane Berrong LT: JOE ALT LG: ZEKE CORRELL, Andrew Kristofic C: JARRETT PATTERSON RG: CAIN MADDEN RT: JOSH LUGG WR: AVERY DAVIS WR: BRADEN LENZY, Lorenzo Styles Jr. DEFENSE SDE: MYRON TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA, Nana Osafo- Mensah, Alex Ehrensberger DT: JAYSON ADEMILOLA, Rylie Mills, Jacob Lacey NT: KURT HINISH, Howard Cross III Vyper: ISAIAH FOSKEY, Justin Ademilola Mike: DREW WHITE, Bo Bauer Will: JD BERTRAND Rover: JACK KISER, Isaiah Pryor Strong safety: HOUSTON GRIFFITH, DJ Brown Free safety: KYLE HAMILTON Boundary CB: CLARENCE LEWIS Field CB: CAM HART, TaRiq Bracy Nickel: TARIQ BRACY, Ramon Henderson SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff coverage: Davis Sherwood, Houston Griffith, DJ Brown, Jordan Botelho, Xavier Watts, Jack Kiser, Bo Bauer, Prince Kollie, Isaiah Pryor, TaRiq Bracy Kick return: Mitchell Evans, Cane Berrong, George Takacs, Matt Salerno, Audric Estime, Xavier Watts, Bo Bauer, Adam Shibley, Isaiah Pryor, DJ Brown, Prince Kollie, Chris Velotta Punt coverage: Lorenzo Styles Jr., Isaiah Pryor, Jack Kiser, JD Bertrand, Davis Sherwood, Rylie Mills, John Dirksen, Drew White, Bo Bauer, Kyle Hamilton Punt return: Lorenzo Styles Jr., Xavier Watts, DJ Brown, Justin Ademilola, Litchfield Ajavon, Bo Bauer, Rylie Mills, Isaiah Pryor, Ramon Henderson, Leo Albano Kickoff: Jonathan Doerer Placekicker: Jonathan Doerer Punter: Jay Bramblett Long snapper: Michael Vinson Holder: Jay Bramblett Kick Returner: Chris Tyree, Matt Salerno Punt Returner: Kyren Williams, Matt Salerno VIRGINIA TECH VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Virginia Tech 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 7:10 9:23 8:30 6:30 16:33 15:00 31:33 Third-Down Conversions 2-3 1-4 2-5 2-3 3-7 4-8 7-15 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position VT-33 VT-20 VT-26 VT-28 VT-27 VT-27 VT-27 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 7:50 5:37 6:30 8:30 13:27 15:00 28:27 Third-Down Conversions 1-4 1-2 2-3 0-2 2-6 2-5 4-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position ND-25 ND-25 ND-31 ND-24 ND-25 ND-28 ND-27 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards VT ND Nega ve 7 2 0-5 40 41 6-9 8 11 10-19 12 9 20-29 2 2 30-39 0 1 40-49 0 1 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Virginia Tech 4 2 2 0 Notre Dame 4 4 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Virginia Tech • 3-7 VT34 Burmeister pass complete to Blackshear for 25 yards to UND41 • 3-5 UND17 Waller 26-yard intercep on return for touchdown Notre Dame • 1-10 50 Buchner pass complete to Aus n for 46 yards to VT04 • 2-7 UND23 Buchner pass complete to Davis for 37 yards to VT 40 Junior running back Kyren Williams and the Irish rushing attacked clicked against Virginia Tech in a way it hadn't all sea- son, producing a season-high 180 yards. Williams contributed 81 of that total and also silenced the Virginia Tech crowd with a pair of touchdowns. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME