Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 26, 2024 25 DESPITE INJURY LOSSES, DEFENSE STAYS DOMINANT As Notre Dame sophomore safety Adon Shuler celebrated in the end zone, Georgia Tech redshirt sophomore quar- terback Zach Pyron kept his head down as he made the long walk back to the Yellow Jackets' sideline. It's hard to blame him. After a 9-of-9 start, the Irish suffocated Pyron like they'd done to many other signal-call- ers over the past two years. Shuler's pick six to put Notre Dame up 31-7 — joining graduate student safety Xavier Watts in the interception parade — was the final blow. "Xavier has done a great job all year," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "Adon's done a great job all year." Watts picked off his third pass of the year and 10th of his career. Shuler grabbed his second. Along with the nine Irish defenders in front of them, they made the game against Georgia Tech more about who played than who didn't. Notre Dame's romp in Atlanta was its first game in a post-Benjamin Morrison world, following the junior cornerback and projected first-round NFL Draft pick's hip surgery. Morrison, breakout graduate student vyper Jordan Botelho and budding star sophomore vyper Boubacar Traore are all done for the 2024 season. But as the injuries continue to pile up, the Irish have been no less dominant. "This is a young team, kind of now, right?" head coach Marcus Freeman said. "We're confident in the guys that we put on the field. They just need the opportunity." Notre Dame allowed a touchdown drive in the first quarter, capped off by Georgia Tech redshirt junior running back Jamal Haynes' 1-yard touchdown run. The Yellow Jackets did not score again until the clock showed 23 seconds left in the game. Even then, Pyron paid the price. He took a shot from sophomore Irish line- backer Drayk Bowen on the previous play, popping up slowly and walking back to the huddle in pain. Bowen led Notre Dame with 9 tackles, making plays from sideline to sideline. Sophomore linebacker Jaiden Ausberry had 5, including a critical tackle for loss shortly before a sack from gradu- ate student defensive tackle Rylie Mills. Graduate student nickel back Jordan Clark made a key third-down stop and broke up a pass. Everyone who rushed the passer was relentless. Morrison's direct replacement, fresh- man cornerback Leonard Moore, held his own. Pyron went after him and he gave up a few receptions, but he also finished with 2 passes broken up, one of which forced a three-and-out. "I'm still praying for BMo right now," Moore said. "We love him to death. You never wanna see that, especially from a player as good as BMo, but you gotta be prepared and ready for your opportu- nity when the time comes." The Irish believe Moore, from Round Rock, Texas, has a chance to be one of the best cornerbacks to come through Notre Dame. "We knew Leonard was special from the time he got on campus," Freeman said. "It's just, 'When is his opportunity gonna present itself?'" Moore and the rest of the Notre Dame defense have seized the moment every week. NOTRE DAME RUNNING BACKS HAVE HUGE ROLE IN IRISH WIN Not every running back can average 2.6 yards per carry and still leave view- ers saying, "Man, that guy is the best player on the football field." Notre Dame sophomore Jeremiyah Love is in that rare air. He did that in the Irish's 31-13 win over Georgia Tech. Love exhibits the excitement and ex- hilaration of 100-yard kickoff returns on 10-yard gains. He's trusted enough to be given the ball on long-develop- ing fake punts because the coaching staff knows when he gets the ball, good things happen. Like when he caught a short pass over the middle and some- how beat everybody, including team- mates, to the edge for a 25-yard gain. He's just different. Notre Dame quar- terback Riley Leonard knows that. He GEORGIA TECH GAME NOTES BY JACK SOBLE AND TYLER HORKA Graduate student defensive tackle Rylie Mills notched 1.5 sacks among his 3 tackles and was part of a dominant Fighting Irish defensive effort from top to bottom. PHOTO BY MATT RUDOLPH