Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/163197
three observations Turning Point With 1:01 left in the first half, Temple scored on a short touchdown run to narrow its deficit to 14-6. Momentum was on the visitor's side, and they had settled down after yielding two touchdowns in the opening 4:41. The Owls were in position to go into halftime feeling good about trailing only 14‑6 and then receiving the second-half kickoff. However, on the first play after the Temple kickoff, Irish senior quarterback Tommy Rees zipped a 15-yard bullet over the middle to junior tight end Troy Niklas for his first reception of the game. With the Temple secondary in awkward angles and no help on the back end, the 270-pound Niklas covered the final 50 or so yards rather easily. That 66-yard touchdown quelled Temple's momentum and gave Notre Dame breathing room entering the halftime locker room. It was even more pivotal when Temple's opening drive of the second half was halted at the Irish 6-yard line. Stat Of The Game It wasn't so much that Rees passed for a career-high 346 yards, but that his yards per attempt averaged 15.04 and his yards per completion averaged 21.6. Rees' yards per attempt figure ranks as the third highest ever in a game by a Notre Dame quarterback who attempted a minimum of 15 passes. In the 35-0 season-opening victory against Nevada in 2009, Jimmy Clausen set the single-game Notre Dame record with 17.50 yards per attempt (18 By lou somogyi for 315). Clausen also is No. 2 at 15.42, which he achieved in the 49-21 Hawaii Bowl victory against Hawaii in 2008 (26 attempts for 401 yards). Rees was the beneficiary of some huge yards after the catch — on a 51yard bubble screen to senior wideout TJ Jones and then on a 66-yard touchdown to junior tight end Troy Niklas in which he out-ran everyone the final 50 yards. However, Rees also placed the ball where it needed to be on long 32-yard scoring tosses to junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels. Different Team, Similar Identity Methodical. Workmanlike. Unspectacular. Those words were constantly used to describe the 2012 Notre Dame team — specifically the offense — that advanced to the BCS National Championship Game despite seldom displaying the proverbial "style points." The 28-6 victory against 30-point underdog Temple had a similar approach. There was an early "wow factor" when Notre Dame exploded to a 14-0 lead in the first 4:41 on 77- and 87-yard drives — both of which took only three plays apiece to cover. The final 50 minutes saw the Fighting Irish post a ho-hum 14-6 advantage against the game, but outmatched, Owls. The modus operandi was familiar: Be efficient, don't turn over the football and let the defense dominate. Notre Dame finished with zero turnovers while still amassing 543 yards of total offense. Still, similar to 2012, a lot of points were left on the field compared to the yardage totaled.