Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1508272
28 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FRESHMEN PLAY BIG ROLE FOR IRISH OFFENSE It started with Jaden Greathouse. Jeremiyah Love got Notre Dame within striking distance. Rico Flores Jr. fin- ished it off. Early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame trailed Ohio State 10-7 and re- gained possession at its own 4-yard line. The Irish were set for the most im- portant drive of the season to that point. Six of the 11 plays offensive coordinator Gerad Parker called, including the first and last, went to true freshmen. Even more impressively, it worked. It's a sign of how much Notre Dame trusts Greathouse, Love and Flores — a slot receiver, running back and wide receiver, respectively — and how much potential the Irish coaching staff be- lieves the three of them have. And they've been proving them right every chance they get. "I personally feel like [the coaching staff's trust has] been adding up since I got here in January," Flores said. "I'm a hardworking player and I'm going to keep going." Greathouse got the ball rolling with a 3-yard run and a 28-yard catch over the middle, where he often finds himself open out of the slot. Graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman's next pass went to Flores, but Ohio State sopho- more cornerback Davison Igbinosun broke it up. No big deal. Notre Dame kept going back to its fresh- men. NOTRE DAME VS. OHIO ST. QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 10:01 4:29 11:14 9:15 14:30 20:29 34:59 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 0-1 2-3 1-2 2-5 3-5 5-10 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-2 Average Field Position ND-22 ND-13 ND-25 ND-17 ND-17 ND-20 ND-19 Ohio State 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 4:59 10:31 3:46 5:45 15:30 9:31 25:01 Third-Down Conversions 1-3 4-6 1-2 4-6 5-9 5-8 10-17 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-0 1-2 0-1 1-2 1-3 Average Field Position OSU-22 OSU-25 OSU-37 OSU-30 OSU-23 OSU-34 OSU-28 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND OSU Nega ve 4 1 0-5 36 42 6-9 9 9 10-19 11 8 20-29 4 2 30-39 0 0 40-49 0 1 50 or more 0 1 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 3 2 0 1 Ohio State 4 1 1 2 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 2-11 ND10 Hartman pass to Tyree for 25 yards to ND35 • 2-7 ND7 Hartman pass to Great- house for 28 yards to ND35 • 3-10 ND35 Hartman pass to Evans for 25 yards to OSU40 Ohio State • 1-10 OSU 39 Henderson 61-yard run for a touchdown • 3-5 OSU30 McCord 40-yard pass to Johnson to ND30 F r e s h m a n w i d e r e c e i v e r J a d e n Greathouse contributed a 3-yard run and a 28-yard reception on Notre Dame's 96-yard go-ahead touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER