Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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18 NOV. 27, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TODD D. BURLAGE T he Nov. 20 matchup with Geor- gia Tech marked Senior Day at Notre Dame Stadium and with it came the recognition of the Irish seniors who recorded their 43rd career victory in a 55-0 rout of Yellow Jack- ets, the most wins for a four-year Notre Dame class in program history. The win for Notre Dame (10-1) was its sixth straight, with the last five coming by double digits. After the game, Irish head coach Brian Kelly celebrated his team's steady improvement this season and its No- vember dominance that has been high- lighted by consecutive victories against Navy, Virginia and Georgia Tech in which it didn't allow a touchdown and won by a combined score of 117-9. "We're a better football team than we were in September," Kelly said after his first shutout since a 52-0 whitewash of South Florida on Sept. 19, 2020. "They continue to find ways to get better and tonight is a great example of that." The fourth-year Irish seniors went 25-1 during their careers at Notre Dame Stadium. This team has also beaten 41 straight unranked opponents, it has won 24 in a row against ACC foes and has vic- tories in five straight Senior Day games. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 24, GEORGIA TECH 0 Top Moment: After settling for a field goal on its first offensive drive, Notre Dame scored its first touchdown of the game on defense and pushed its lead to 10-0 when Irish junior rover Jack Kiser returned an interception 43 yards for his second touchdown this season. Notre Dame junior rush end Isaiah Foskey caused the interception when he pressured freshman Georgia Tech quar- terback Jordan Yates into a hurried and ill-advised pass that landed softly in Kiser's arms. Feature Performer: Working be- hind an improving offensive line, Irish junior tailback Kyren Williams set the tone for the game with 23 rushing yards, including a nine-yard touchdown run that pushed Notre Dame's lead to 17-0. Stats: In perhaps the best quarter for Notre Dame this season, the Irish outgained Georgia Tech 144-46 and re- corded seven first downs. Items: The Irish gave up two sacks in the first quarter after allowing none against Virginia last week … Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan went 6-of-8 passing for 127 yards with one touchdown … Sophomore tight end Mi- chael Mayer caught a 52-yard touchdown pass, the longest reception of his career … Irish sophomore return man Chris Tyree seized some early momentum for Notre Dame when he brought back the game's opening kickoff 51 yards to the Georgia Tech 48-yard line. It was the only kickoff for the Yellow Jackets the entire game. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 45, GEORGIA TECH 0 Top Moment: The first offensive possession of the second quarter, which pushed the Irish lead to 31-0, was as efficient a touchdown drive as any the Irish put together this season. Coan completed all four of his pass attempts for 43 yards, while the Irish young guns also got involved. Freshman wide receivers Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie each caught passes on the possession and freshman running back Logan Diggs capped the seven-play, 61-yard drive with a five- yard touchdown run. Feature Performer: Diggs contin- ued his late-season ascent with the five-yard touchdown run and a 20-yard receiving touchdown in the quarter that put Notre Dame up 38-0 with 7:21 still remaining in the second. A tough call in this category, Coan was also brilliant, completing his first nine pass attempts in this stanza for 158 yards. Stats: As if the first quarter wasn't dominating enough for Notre Dame, the Irish outgained Georgia Tech 210-71 in the second and outscored the Yellow Jackets 21-0. Items: While the Notre Dame offense scored touchdowns on all three of its pos- sessions in the second quarter, the Irish defense forced Georgia Tech into two punts and a missed field goal attempt on SENIOR SEND-OFF Fighting Irish dominate in 55-0 victory against Georgia Tech in home finale Junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey led the charge for an Irish defense that notched six sacks for 52 yards in losses, and scored two touchdowns of its own while shutting out the Yellow Jackets. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER