Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1428488
26 NOV. 20, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Woolfolk to throw down field. Bauer and Henderson were both aided by a relentless Notre Dame pass rush, too. "The D-line did a good job of mov- ing around and making him a little ner- vous," Henderson said. Depth wins championships. Whether or not Notre Dame has an opportunity to play for one will be determined in the next two weeks. But even if the Irish don't get that chance, it showed in Charlottesville that depth also soundly wins games on the road. And on that night, that's all that mattered. LOGAN DIGGS' ASCENT CONTINUES WITH CAREER DAY, HIGHLIGHT RUN Notre Dame freshman run- ning back Logan Diggs' hurdle of a Virginia defender doesn't happen without a misstep from a teammate. Diggs chugged 26 yards late in the first quarter of the Irish's 28-3 win over the Cavaliers, with a leap over de- fensive back Anthony Johnson right in the middle. The former high school hurdler never broke stride as he made liftoff, cleared Johnson's tackle attempt and landed six yards later. Johnson, though, stood in Diggs' way because senior receiver Braden Lenzy couldn't block him long enough. "I messed up the block and he got to hurdle the dude, so that was a little pos- itive and negative," Lenzy said. "Made film tomorrow a little better for me." Lenzy, lined up to the boundary side with Johnson across from him, ran a clear-out and started blocking about 10 yards downfield. He initially moved Johnson back, but Johnson freed him- self, reversed course and charged down the sideline toward Diggs, who was bar- reling right at him. Johnson went low, bending at the waist. Diggs saw it and launched off the ground as if there were springs in his shoes. He landed and continued run- ning before a shove sent him out of bounds. In all, he made three defenders miss on the play. A lost rep for Lenzy turned into a highlight that will live with Diggs long after he's done at Notre Dame. All's well that ends well. And Diggs has a way of authoring good endings. "A lot of his plays, they look effort- less," Lenzy said. "What he's doing is very difficult. He's giving a different look and different style of running. It has been a huge morale booster." Diggs ran for a career-high 64 yards versus Virginia, needing just nine carries to get there. The 26-yarder is his longest gain this year. In five games since Notre Dame inserted him into the offense, Diggs has 197 yards on 37 carries and two touchdowns. He's Notre Dame's third- leading rusher and has barged into a 2A and 2B timeshare with sophomore Chris Tyree behind starter Kyren Williams. VIRGINIA VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Virginia 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 4:15 8:42 10:20 7:02 12:57 17:22 30:19 Third-Down Conversions 0-2 2-3 3-6 0-3 2-5 3-9 5-14 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-1 1-1 0-1 1-2 1-3 Average Field Position UVA-23 UVA-21 UVA-33 UVA-22 UVA-22 UVA-29 UVA-26 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 10:45 6:18 4:40 7:58 17:03 12:38 29:41 Third-Down Conversions 3-5 3-3 1-2 0-1 6-8 1-3 7-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-1 1-2 0-1 1-3 Average Field Position ND-40 ND-17 ND-27 ND-21 ND-31 ND-24 ND-27 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards UVA ND Nega ve 8 4 0-5 34 28 6-9 9 13 10-19 12 10 20-29 1 3 30-39 0 1 40-49 0 0 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Virginia 2 0 1 1 Notre Dame 4 3 0 1 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Virginia • 2-4 UVA45 Woolfolk pass complete to Thompson for 28 yards to ND27 Notre Dame • 3-2 ND48 Diggs 26-yard run to UVA26 • 1-10 ND48 Styles 37-yard run to UVA15 (placed at UVA25 a er holding penalty negated a 52-yard touchdown run) • 1-10 ND39 Lenzy 31-yard run to UVA30 Freshman running back Logan Diggs rushed for 64 yards on nine carries, including a 26-yard gain where he hurdled a defender. PHOTO BY KEITH LUCAS/SIDELINE MEDIA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • With the 28-3 win over Virginia, Notre Dame has won nine or more games in five straight seasons. It is the eighth time they have done it under head coach Brian Kelly during his 12-year tenure. • Virginia had amassed 500 or more yards in five straight games before getting shut down by Notre Dame. The Cavaliers compiled just 278 total yards against the Fighting Irish. • Freshman wide receiver Lorenzo Styles, junior defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah, senior linebacker Bo Bauer and sophomore safety Ramon Henderson all made their first career starts against Virginia. • Junior running back Kyren Williams has scored a touchdown for the Fighting Irish in six straight games. • With Henderson notching his first career pick, the Irish have now had nine different players record an interception this season. • Sophomore rover Xavier Watts made a career-best five tackles.