Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 9, 2024

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 9, 2024 45 GAME PREVIEW: FLORIDA STATE have been solid but its linebackers have given up a ton over the middle. Slants, screens, quick zone- beaters and Leonard making correct decisions will be important for a successful day. Given Notre Dame's recent progress and Florida State's struggles, a successful day is likely. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame's special teams have been up and down, to say the least. One week the Irish are fumbling the opening kickoff, and a few weeks later they're blocking a field goal and convert- ing two fakes. One week they're blowing up lead blockers on the kickoff team and coming inches from blocking multiple punts, and the next they're muffing a punt and committing an illegal block-in- the-back penalty. Florida State's third phase, on the other hand, has been the strongest part of its season. Redshirt senior kicker Ryan Fitzgerald has made all 9 of his field goal attempts, including four from 50 or more yards out, with a long of 59. Redshirt senior punter Alex Mastromanno is second in college football at 49.4 yards per punt and fifth at 46.3 net yards per punt. One could make a strong case that Fitzgerald and Mastromanno have been the Seminoles' two best players. Notre Dame graduate student punter James Rendell shares Mastromanno's hometown of Mel- bourne, Australia, but not his consistency. Rendell is 109th in college football with 40.1 yards per punt and 116th with 38.1 net yards per punt. Reliable graduate student kicker Mitch Jeter is dealing with a hip injury, and junior Zac Yoakam went 1 of 2 on field goals against Georgia Tech in his place. This one goes to the visitors. Advantage: Florida State COACHING Life moves fast in college football. A year ago, Florida State head coach Mike Norvell was aim- ing for an undefeated season and would later be a real contender for an Alabama job. It would be financially prohibitive (his buyout is $63 million) to fire him now, but he will enter 2025 squarely on the hot seat. Norvell is out of answers right now. He whiffed on far too many of his transfer additions — the quarterback most of all — and his signal-caller of the future does not appear to be on the roster. Multi-score losses to Boston College, SMU and Clemson and a home loss to Memphis have shown a team unprepared to play. He'll have to make multiple staff changes when the season is over to inspire some degree of hope for 2025. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, on the other hand, has built back some of the goodwill he lost after the NIU game. While he would prefer the Irish score first more often than they do, Freeman and his staff — particularly defensive coordina- tor Al Golden — have been excellent at making in-game adjustments and winning comfortably through adversity. Freeman also consistently increases Notre Dame's win probability by going for it on fourth down, and the Irish have converted 71.43 percent of the time. That aggressiveness will serve him well going forward. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Florida State played No. 6 Miami Oct. 26. Odds are overwhelming that the Seminoles lost, and they probably lost by a lot. If that's the case, Flor- ida State has 7 losses and a possible bowl game is out the window. At this point, Norvell's group truly has nothing left to play for. Its season is a failure in every sense of the word. And when it comes down to it, a Florida State team made up largely of "mercenary" transfers might just throw in the towel. One could make the case that already began with a 42-16 loss to SMU Sept. 28. The Seminoles do, at times, appear to be going through the motions. Human nature says even the coaching staff, know- ing the group of players will change dramatically in 2025 and knowing a few of them will lose their jobs, might start counting down the days. Notre Dame, on the other hand, has everything to play for. If the Irish beat Navy Oct. 26 in East Rutherford, N.J., their College Football Playoff hopes will be very much alive. They'll be coming off a bye week, a situation in which Freeman's teams are 5-0. This will also be their only night game at home, and they'll want to put on a show. If you've read this far, you know how brutal Florida State is in all facets of the game. This game should be a springboard for Notre Dame as it reaches the home stretch. Advantage: Notre Dame Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. WR 8 Hykeem Williams 6-2 215 So. 1 Kentron Poitier 6-3 202 R-Sr. or 81 Elijah Moore 6-4 204 Fr. WR 0 Ja'Khi Douglas 5-9 195 R-Sr. 21 Darion Williamson 6-3 202 R-Sr. WR 10 Malik Benson 6-1 195 Sr. or 6 Jalen Brown 6-1 174 R-Fr. or 15 Lawayne McCoy 6-1 176 Fr. LT 76 Darius Washington 6-4 310 R-Sr. 79 Lucas Simmons 6-8 308 R-Fr. LG 65 André Otto 6-5 325 R-Fr. 75 Keiondre Jones 6-3 337 R-Sr. or 77 Bryson Estes 6-3 285 R-Jr. C 53 Maurice Smith 6-3 298 R-Sr. 64 Jacob Rizy 6-5 308 Sr. RG 54 Jaylen Early 6-4 297 R-So. 69 TJ Ferguson 6-4 330 R-Jr. RT 63 Jeremiah Byers 6-4 331 R-Sr. 52 Robert Scott Jr. 6-5 337 R-Sr. TE 84 Kyle Morlock 6-6 240 R-Sr. or 86 Brian Courtney 6-3 240 Jr. or 18 Landen Thomas 6-4 235 Fr. QB 11 Brock Glenn 6-2 215 R-Fr. 14 Luke Kromenhoek 6-4 208 Fr. RB 3 Kam Davis 5-10 224 Fr. 26 Caziah Holmes 5-11 215 R-Sr. RB 9 Lawrance Toafili 6-0 196 R-Sr. 28 Samuel Singleton Jr. 5-11 195 R-Fr. or 19 Micahi Danzy 6-1 185 Fr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. DE 11 Patrick Payton 6-5 250 R-Jr. 13 Sione Lolohea 6-3 265 R-Sr. DT 5 Joshua Farmer 6-3 318 R-Jr. 56 KJ Sampson 6-3 306 R-Fr. or 19 Tomiwa Durojaiye 6-4 280 R-So. DT 6 Darrell Jackson Jr. 6-5 330 R-Jr. 95 Daniel Lyons 6-4 294 R-So. or 90 Grady Kelly 6-2 295 R-Jr. DE 7 Marvin Jones Jr. 6-5 255 Jr. 54 Byron Turner Jr. 6-4 251 R-Jr. LB 18 Cam Riley 6-5 237 Sr. or 20 Blake Nichelson 6-3 224 So. LB 9 Omar Graham Jr. 6-1 228 R-So. or 28 Justin Cryer 6-1 232 So. NICK 3 Kevin Knowles II 5-11 190 Sr. or 33 Edwin Joseph 6-0 190 R-Fr. CB 23 Fentrell Cypress II 6-0 188 R-Sr. 16 Quindarrius Jones 6-2 190 So. BUCK 24 K.J. Kirkland 6-1 206 R-Fr. 0 Earl Little Jr. 6-1 186 R-So. FS 1 Shyheim Brown 6-2 208 R-Jr. 12 Conrad Hussey 6-0 200 So. or 22 Davonte Brown 6-2 195 R-Sr. CB 8 Azareye'h Thomas 6-2 198 Jr. 4 Charles Lester III 6-1 190 Fr. FLORIDA STATE DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. K 88 Ryan Fitzgerald 6-1 190 R-Sr. 22 Jake Weinberg 5-10 182 Fr. P 29 Alex Mastromanno 6-1 241 R-Sr. 43 Mac Chiumento 6-4 222 R-So. SNP 32 Mason Arnold 6-0 223 R-Jr. 60 Peyton Naylor 5-10 188 R-Fr. H 29 Alex Mastromanno 6-1 241 R-Sr. 43 Mac Chiumento 6-4 222 R-So. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KR 28 Samuel Singleton Jr. 5-11 195 R-Fr. 19 Micahi Danzy 6-1 185 Fr. KR 3 Kam Davis 5-10 224 Fr. or 26 Caziah Holmes 5-11 215 R-Sr. PR 15 Lawayne McCoy 6-1 176 Fr. 10 Malik Benson 6-1 195 Sr. Special Teams

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