Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2024 27 than 10 hours before kickoff, Mickey's dad, Lamar, broke the heartbreaking news on social media. Mickey's mom, Nilka, passed away after a nearly four- year battle with colon cancer. Despite that, Mickey made his sec- ond start of the season as Notre Dame planned after graduate student corner- back Cam Hart opted out. He played 25 snaps, 17 in pass coverage, and was only targeted twice. On those 2 targets, he allowed 1 catch for 12 yards. Mickey also drew a key holding penalty early in the game and was the second man there when the Irish stopped Oregon State's fake punt in its tracks. Mickey had been playing for his mom the entire season, and that story came to a head after Notre Dame's blowout win over Pittsburgh. That was Mickey's other start, with fellow sophomore cor- nerback Benjamin Morrison ruled out just before kickoff due to a quad injury. He played phenomenally in that game, intercepting a pass and taking it back for a touchdown. After he reached the end zone, Mickey — normally the most animated player on the team after something goes well — didn't celebrate much. He just pointed to the sky. "I was just picturing my mom and dad in the living room, yelling," Mickey said at the time. "I said, 'My mom has got to see this.' I'm happy it happened today." During Bowl Week in El Paso, Texas, Mickey was asked if his mom had any special requests for his anticipated start. "Just go out there and do what I do," Mickey said with a smile. N i l ka M i c key h a d b e e n in hospice care for multiple months before her passing. It's difficult to imagine how much strength it took for Mickey to play with that in mind, let alone hours after he lost his mother. He had plenty of support from his teammates, specifi- cally Morrison. As recruiting classmates — Notre Dame prides itself on its commits and their families being close with each other — Morrison and Mickey are good friends. They started alongside each other in El Paso for the first time this season. Morrison taped up both his wrists for the Sun Bowl and wrote "Mickey" on both sets of tape. "That's my brother," Morrison said after the game. "It's just a testament to who he is as a man. He pushed me. He made me a better player. I'm just here to support him any way I can. I just love that family and love him." ✦ NOTRE DAME VS. OREGON STATE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 9:58 10:44 10:15 8:48 20:42 19:03 39:45 Third-Down Conversions 3-3 2-5 2-3 1-2 5-8 3-5 8-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 0-1 1-2 Average Field Position ND-12 ND-33 ND-41 ND-44 ND-22 ND-42 ND-33 Oregon State 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 5:02 4:16 4:45 6:12 9:18 10:57 20:15 Third-Down Conversions 0-2 0-2 0-2 1-3 0-4 1-5 1-9 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-1 1-1 0-1 1-2 1-3 Average Field Position OSU-25 OSU-29 OSU-25 OSU-18 OSU-27 OSU-21 OSU-24 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND OSU Nega ve 9 8 0-5 31 20 6-9 10 8 10-19 12 6 20-29 1 0 30-39 1 2 40-49 0 0 50 or more 2 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 7 5 0 2 Oregon State 0 0 0 0 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 ND 15 Angeli pass to Faison for 55 yards to OSU30 • 1-10 ND39 Angeli pass to Thomas for 26 yards to OSU35 • 1-15 ND37 Angeli pass to Faison for 33 yards to OSU30 • 1-10 ND28 Price run for 54 yards to OSU18 Oregon State • 2-5 OSU30 Gulbranson pass to Irish for 32 yards to ND38 • 1-10 ND33 Gulbranson pass to Valsin for 33 yards and a touchdown Mickey, a sophomore cornerback, played in the Sun Bowl within hours of learning his mother, Nilka, passed away after a battle with cancer. PHOTO BY MARCELL GORDON MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The attendance of 48,223 for the matchup between Notre Dame and Oregon State was a record for the reconfigured Sun Bowl Stadium. The attendance from Notre Dame's 2010 appearance (54,021) remains as the Sun Bowl record. • Notre Dame evened its bowl record to 21-21 all time and is 8-6 in its last 14 appear- ances. • The Fighting Irish improved to 3-0 against the Pac-12 this season and 103-57-6 (.639 winning percentage) all time against Pac-12 teams. • Marcus Freeman improves to 2-1 in bowl games as a head coach. • Freshman left tackle Charles Jagusah made his first career start against the Beavers, mark- ing the first Irish true freshman to make his first start on the offensive line since Joe Alt did so against Virginia Tech on Oct. 9, 2021. • Walk-on senior running back Chase Ket- terer — a native of New Carlisle, Ind. — was the emergency third quarterback for the Irish against Oregon State and was rewarded with his first career rushing touchdown, a 6-yard run that completed Notre Dame's scoring. He entered the game with 1 career carry for 3 yards.