Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DECEMBER 2021 29 the same receiving workload his prede- cessors carried. No quarterback passed in his direction until sophomore Drew Pyne tossed a ball at his feet — a throw- away, really — in the loss to Cincinnati Oct. 2. His first catch came a week later at Virginia Tech. He then went four more games with no catches before a 19-yarder versus Georgia Tech Nov. 20. The targets have, though, offered high- impact chances despite the lower quan- tity. His first two receptions came in key moments. He had a 15-yard catch and run in the fourth quarter at Virginia Tech that set up the Irish's game-winning field goal. He and graduate student quarterback Jack Coan linked up for 19 yards on a scram- ble versus the Yellow Jackets, which put Notre Dame at the 1-yard line. Just one week after he stepped out of bounds just short of a touchdown, Notre Dame got him one. The Irish lined up for the second-and- two play with three tight ends on the field. Takacs was the only tight end on the right side, with senior receiver Kevin Austin Jr. just inside the numbers. It looked like a run formation in a run situation. But it was a pass all the way. Not even play action. Takacs ran a drag route across the middle while Mayer and freshman tight end Mitchell Evans did so from the opposite side. The latter two cleared out space for Takacs in the end zone. Takacs beat Stanford safety Kendall Williamson out of his break and had a step the entire way. Coan threw to him as soon as he saw underneath defender Ricky Miezan stay put instead of following him. It appeared Takacs was the primary read. Mayer all but confirmed it. "We rep that play all week," Mayer said. "We knew he was going to be open. I'm so happy for the dude. Finally got his for this season today." Takacs became the ninth Notre Dame player to catch a touchdown this year. ✦ NOTRE DAME VS. STANFORD QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 8:58 8:52 7:44 8:35 17:50 16:19 34:09 Third-Down Conversions 0-2 1-3 0-3 1-3 1-5 1-6 2-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 1-1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-1 0-0 1-1 Average Field Position UND-23 UND-35 UND-21 UND-17 UND-29 UND-20 UND-24 Stanford 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 6:02 6:08 7:16 6:25 12:10 13:41 25:51 Third-Down Conversions 0-3 1-3 0-3 2-2 1-6 2-5 3-11 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position STAN-26 STAN-34 STAN-42 STAN-24 STAN-30 STAN-34 STAN-32 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND STAN Nega ve 9 5 0-5 27 25 6-9 12 7 10-19 14 7 20-29 1 1 30-39 4 0 40-49 0 1 50 or more 1 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 6 5 1 0 Stanford 1 1 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 UND26 Coan pass complete to Aus n for 33 yards to STAN41 • 1-10 UND37 Coan pass complete to Aus n for 61 yards to STAN2 • 1-10 UND28 Tyree 33-yard run to STAN39 • 2-4 STAN33 Buchner 33-yard touchdown run • 1-10 UND23 Coan pass complete to Mayer for 34 yards to STAN43 Stanford • 1-10 UND49 McKee 49-yard touchdown pass to Yurosek • 3-5 STAN29 McKee pass complete to Yurosek for 26 yards to UND45 Senior tight end George Takacs (85) caught his first touchdown pass since 2019, a two-yard grab in the second quarter. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Notre Dame has won 10 straight road games dating back to 2019. • With 94 all-purpose yards (74 rushing, 20 receiving), junior running back Kyren Williams now has 1,541 all-purpose yards this season (1,002 rushing, 359 receiving, 151 punt return and 29 kick return). A true dual threat, Wil- liams' season average is now 128.4 all-purpose yards per game. For his career, Williams now has 3,043 all- purpose yards and his 108.7 per game average ranks third on the Irish's career list behind only Allen Pinkett (1982-85, 114.1 yards per game) and Darius Walker (2004-06, 112.9 yard per game). Williams began the season in fifth place with an average of 93.6 all-purpose yards per game. • Senior defensive end Justin Ademilola fin- ished the game with two fumble recoveries, making him the first Notre Dame player to have two in a game since Daelin Hayes against Georgia Tech in 2020. • Junior linebacker JD Bertrand tied for the team lead in tackles with five. It is the eighth game this season he has led the team in tackles. • Cornerback Cam Hart set a career high with 2.0 tackles for loss.