Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Toeing The Line Notre Dame wins another tight finish behind a stout defense, a fourth-quarter touchdown and penalty flags N By Andrew Owens otre Dame head coach Brian Kelly spoke at length during the week leading up to his team's clash with Michigan State that the victor would be the one that dealt the final punch in a heavyweight duel of sorts. For the second straight week, junior running back Cam McDaniel's fourthquarter efforts helped propel the Irish to a narrow victory, this time a 17‑13 defeat of the Spartans at Notre Dame Stadium. With 14:44 remaining in the final period, McDaniel's seven-yard touchdown scamper gave Notre Dame a seven-point lead, an advantage the defense maintained with its suffocating play in the final minutes. "It's what we expected," Kelly said. "We faced an excellent football team in Michigan State with a physical, great defense. We knew it was going to be this kind of football game. Somebody was going to have to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter. We were able to get the touchdown and hold them from scoring one." With the game tied at 10 late in the third quarter, junior safety Matthias Farley intercepted freshman receiver R.J. Shelton's pass on a trick play. Coupled with a personal foul against Michigan State, Notre Dame's drive began at the Spartans 37-yard line. A pair of pass interference calls against Michigan State set up McDaniel's game-winning score. "We did what we had to do in terms of defensively. I felt we played the ball the way we teach them to play the ball," said Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio, whose team was penalized 10 times for 115 yards. "That's how they played the ball. Beyond that, I'm not going to have any comments on [penalties]. That's for other people to comment on in private." Notre Dame (3-1) showcased its best defensive performance of the season against the Spartans (3-1) on a day when sophomore defensive end Sheldon Day sat out with an ankle injury and the Irish used more of their depth in rotations throughout the game. Farley received less playing time as part of a three-man rotation with sophomore Elijah Shumate and senior Austin Collinsworth, but was in position to intercept Shelton for a momentum-shifting play. "We had been alluding to the fact that we made some changes," Kelly said. "We think it's starting to come