Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 29, 2022 27 Kollie might have deflected the kick himself. Kollie got a hand on the second punt and sent it to the turf after Foskey altered its spin and flight. The blocks were Notre Dame's third and fourth of the year. Foskey became the first Irish player to block 2 punts in a game since Notre Dame started keeping records in 1937. He reached Nichols so quickly on the first one that he blocked the drop of the ball from hands to foot, not the kick itself. "Every week we feel like we can take advantage of a punt team, and Coach Mason does a great job of executing the game plan," head coach Marcus Free- man said. "Today we were able to get two, and those are game-changers." Notre Dame took over at the 20-yard line after the first and the 14-yard line after the second. The Irish scored two plays after the first on a 20-yard touch- down from junior quarterback Drew Pyne to junior tight end Michael Mayer. The second led to a 27-yard field goal from graduate student kicker Blake Grupe that made the score 20-7 with 3:58 left in the opening quarter. The Irish had six first-quarter points in the first six games of the season. They hung 23 on UNLV, but not because of crisp offense. They traveled 20 yards or less on five of their six first-quarter pos- sessions. But they still scored at the end of five drives because the starting field position made the path shorter. Notre Dame began a possession in UNLV terri- tory four times in the first quarter alone. All told, Notre Dame's starting field position was its own 46-yard line. That's why an offense that ebbed and flowed for most of the game could still put up 44 points — and could have pushed 60 even with average red-zone efficiency. Complementary football at its finest. "We got a lot of momentum," Foskey said, "gave the ball back to the offense in plus got territory, which is great for the whole team." ✦ NOTRE DAME VS. UNLV QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 8:18 9:12 7:44 8:38 17:30 16:22 33:52 Third-Down Conversions 1-5 2-4 2-4 4-4 3-9 6-8 9-17 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 Average Field Position UNLV-45 UND-39 UND-37 UND-42 UND-49 UND-39 UND-45 UNLV 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 6:42 5:48 7:16 6:22 12:30 13:38 26:08 Third-Down Conversions 0-5 0-2 0-3 0-2 0-7 0-5 0-12 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 1-2 1-1 0-0 2-3 2-3 Average Field Position UNLV-25 UNLV-27 UNLV-27 UNLV-25 UNLV-26 UNLV-26 UNLV-26 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND UNLV Nega ve 1 9 0-5 53 37 6-9 7 4 10-19 8 5 20-29 4 3 30-39 2 0 40-49 0 1 50 or more 0 1 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 7 5 1 1 UNLV 3 3 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 3-10 UNLV49 Pyne pass to Thomas for 37 yards to UNLV12 • 1-10 UND25 Pyne pass to Mayer for 27 yards to UNLV48 • 1-10 UNLV48 Pyne pass to Mayer for 34 yards to UNLV14 UNLV • 1-10 UNLV25 Reese run for 74 yards to UND1 • 1-10 UNLV38 Friel pass to White for 26 yards to UND36 • 1-10 UNLV24 Reese run for 47 yards to UND29 • 1-10 UND48 Bailey pass to Williams for 26 yards to UND22 Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey became the first Irish player to block 2 punts in a game since Notre Dame started keeping records in 1937. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Notre Dame scored a touchdown on its first drive of the game for the first time this season. It was the Irish's first first-quarter touchdown this fall. • Sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans made his first career start and scored his first career touchdown on his second career rushing at- tempt after lining up under center and taking the snap. He finished the game with 2 carries for 5 yards and the touchdown. • Junior defensive back Clarence Lewis notched his first career fumble recovery — on his third career forced fumble — in the second quarter. • Graduate student wide receiver Braden Lenzy posted his first receiving score of the season, a 4-yard catch from junior quarterback Drew Pyne for Notre Dame's final touchdown of the game. • Senior defensive lineman Jayson Ademi- lola, who shared the longest streak on the team at 19 consecutive starts, did not start against UNLV, though he did appear on the third defensive snap of the game. Senior defensive end Isaiah Foskey now owns the team's longest streak with 20 straight starts.