Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 30, 2023 29 "I don't feel like we was really pay- ing attention to that," Flores said, when asked if the three freshmen playing massive offensive roles right away gave them confidence as a group. "We was just going. We was just working. But there's a lot of confidence built. But we've been adding that from Day 1." Love got the ball later in the drive, once the Irish got down to the red zone. He ripped off gains of 6 and 10 yards, respectively, showcasing his incredible combination of size, speed, physicality and agility. Then, it was Flores' time again. Lined up against Igbinosun again, Flores broke his ankles with his inside release. With one fake to the outside, Flores made Igbinosun sit down. It was, as oft-Notre Dame announcer Jac Col- linsworth described it, a veteran route by the freshman. All Hartman had to do was float the ball toward the back of the end zone, and Flores did the rest. I n d i sc u ss i n g t h e ro u te , F l o re s sounded like a veteran, too. "It was a tremendous feeling," Flores said. "I don't even remember. I'll have to watch it later. I seen it all coming from how he was playing, had a little outside shade and I'm pretty sure I had a post. It was like a weird post that we run. "So, I executed the play and it was hype after that." Even in a gut-wrenching, last-second loss, Notre Dame left Week 4 with at least one "glass half-full" takeaway: the future at wide receiver and running back is bright in South Bend. ✦ OHIO STATE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Henderson 14 104 0 104 7.4 1 61 Trayanum 6 13 0 13 2.2 1 4 Egbuka 2 9 0 9 4.5 0 9 McCord 4 9 9 0 0.0 0 5 Williams 1 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 Total 27 135 9 126 4.7 2 61 Passing Com. Att. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long McCord 21 37 56.8 0 240 0 40 TEAM 0 1 0.0 0 0 0 0 Total 21 38 55.3 0 240 0 40 Receiving No Yards TD Long Egbuka 7 96 0 23 Stover 7 52 0 14 Harrison 3 32 0 19 Fleming 2 8 0 7 Johnson 1 40 0 40 Trayanum 1 12 0 12 Total 21 240 0 40 Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long Egbuka 1 8 0 8 Total 1 8 0 8 Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long Johnson 1 32 0 32 Total 1 32 0 32 Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 Mirco 3 38.3 42 0 0 2 0 2 Total 3 38.3 42 0 0 2 0 2 Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. Fielding 1 1 31 0 Total 1 1 31 0 Defense Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR Ransom 7 6 13 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Proctor 5 2 7 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Chambers 4 2 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Styles 3 3 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Tuimoloau 3 3 6 0.5-3 0-0 1 0 0 Igbinosun 2 4 6 0.5-2 0-0 1 0 0 Eichenberg 4 1 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Williams 3 1 4 1-1 0-0 1 0 0 Hamilton 2 2 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hall 1 3 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Simon 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Sawyer 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long None NOTRE DAME INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing Att. Gain Lost Net Avg. TD Long Estimé 14 71 1 70 5.0 0 22 Love 8 57 0 57 7.1 0 16 Price 3 22 0 22 7.3 0 18 Payne 6 18 0 18 3.0 1 6 D. Ford 2 9 0 9 4.5 0 5 Greathouse 1 3 0 3 3.0 0 3 TEAM 1 0 1 -1 -1.0 0 0 Hartman 4 3 5 -2 -0.5 0 3 Total 39 183 7 176 4.5 1 22 Passing Com. Att. Pct. Int. Yards TD Long Hartman 17 25 68.0 0 175 1 28 Total 17 25 68.0 0 175 1 28 Receiving No Yards TD Long Evans 7 75 0 25 Flores 3 20 1 12 Greathouse 2 40 0 28 Payne 2 6 0 5 Tyree 1 25 0 25 Thomas 1 7 0 7 Merriweather 1 6 0 15 Hartman 0 -4 0 0 Total 17 175 1 28 Punt Returns No. Yards TD Long None Kick Returns No. Yards TD Long None Punting No. Avg. Long Blk. TB FC 50+ In 20 McFerson 2 46.0 46 0 0 1 0 0 Total 2 46.0 46 0 0 1 0 0 Field Goals Made Att. Long Blk. Shrader 0 1 0 0 Total 0 1 0 0 Defense Solo Ast. Total TFL Sacks PD FF FR Bertrand 4 4 8 1-3 0-0 1 0 0 Jean-Baptiste 3 5 8 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Cross 4 2 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Harper 4 1 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Watts 4 1 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Botelho 3 1 4 1-9 1-9 0 0 0 Mills 2 2 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Hart 2 1 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Brown 1 2 3 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 Henderson 1 1 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Kiser 0 2 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Burnham 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Morrison 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 Rubio 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Talich 1 0 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 Int. Returns No. Yards TD Long None PARTICIPATION CHART OFFENSE QB: SAM HARTMAN RB: AUDRIC ESTIMÉ, Gi'Bran Payne, Jeremiyah Love, Jadarian Price, Devyn Ford WR: JADEN GREATHOUSE, Rico Flores Jr., To- bias Merriweather, Jayden Thomas, Chris Tyree TE: MITCHELL EVANS, HOLDEN STAES, TOSH BAKER, Davis Sherwood LT: JOE ALT LG: PAT COOGAN C: ZEKE CORRELL RG: ROCCO SPINDLER RT: BLAKE FISHER DEFENSE Vyper: JORDAN BOTELHO, Joshua Burnham DT: RYLIE MILLS NT: HOWARD CROSS III, Gabriel Rubio SDE: JAVONTAE JEAN-BAPTISTE, Nana Osafo- Mensah Mike: JD BERTRAND Will: MARIST LIUFAU, Jaylen Sneed Rover: Jack Kiser FS: DJ BROWN, Ramon Henderson SS: XAVIER WATTS BCB: CAM HART FCB: BENJAMIN MORRISON Nickel: THOMAS HARPER, Clarence Lewis SPECIAL TEAMS Kick return: Jaden Mickey, Cooper Flanagan, Joshua Burnham, Davis Sherwood, Cam Hart, Xavier Watts, Jayden Thomas, Rico Flores Jr., Drayk Bowen Kickoff coverage: Xavier Watts, Jaylen Sneed, Junior Tuihalamaka, Drayk Bowen, Joshua Burnham, Jack Kiser, Clarence Lewis, Jaden Mickey, Ramon Henderson, Luke Talich, Jaiden Ausberry Punt return: Clarence Lewis, Cam Hart, Xavier Watts, Marty Auer, Junior Tuihalamaka, Thomas Harper, Benjamin Morrison, Jack Kiser, Javontae Jean-Baptiste, Jaden Mickey Punt coverage: Jason Onye, Junior Tuihala- maka, Davis Sherwood, Ramon Henderson, Jack Kiser, Cam Hart, Marty Auer, Luke Talich, Marist Liufau Long snapper: Michael Vinson Holder: Dylan Devezin Kick returner: Gi'Bran Payne, Devyn Ford Punt returner: Chris Tyree Kickoff: Spencer Shrader Punter: Bryce McFerson