Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ing that span is due to the play of the defense in tight games. Although the product on the field might not fully resemble its 2012 championship-caliber form, Kelly and the players said they have noticed the strides the units have made. "I think we're moving up that staircase," senior cornerback Bennett Jackson said. "We're not where we want to be or where our potential is, but we're working to get that." Senior quarterback Tommy Rees threw 27 of his 34 passes in the first half. The Irish opted for a downfield aerial attack against the Spartans, due to both the game plan and another underwhelming rushing performance. For the third consecutive game, Notre Dame failed to reach 100 rushing yards as a team, finishing with only 82. "You have to win throwing the football against Michigan State," Kelly said. "You're not going to win running the football against them. We missed a lot of opportunities in the first half. We missed the chances we had early on. Then the way the game went, we were going to run the football." After throwing for more than 300 yards in each of Notre Dame's first three games, Rees struggled often against the stout Michigan State defense, which entered the game tops in the nation in total defense. Rees completed only 14 of 34 passes for 142 yards with a touchdown. The lone score came with 17 seconds left in the first half on a third-down play from the 2-yard line. Rees found senior wide receiver TJ Jones in the back of the end zone to give the Irish their first touchdown of the game and a 10-7 halftime advantage. "He just missed open receivers," Kelly said. "We had guys open. He just didn't hit them. He's not going to shy away from it. He had guys open, and he didn't connect. "This was not a hitch, spot, screen, bubble, high percentage game. This is grip it and rip it. That's the kind of game it was. You're going to hit big plays. You're going to score some touchdowns. "Throw the completion percentage out. You're either going to make some plays or you're not. We had our chances to make some big plays, and we didn't cash in on them when we had our chances." Michigan State opened the second half with an extended drive that culminated in a game-tying field goal. The Spartans stalled in the red zone after a flurry of completed intermediate passes from redshirt sophomore quarterback Connor Cook. The Spartans would only muster another field goal in the contest. Michigan State blocked junior Kyle Brindza's punt after Notre Dame's opening drive and gave the Spartans the ball at the Irish 31. The game remained scoreless after Spartans kicker Kevin Muma missed a 30-yard field goal attempt minutes later. Brindza also missed a 37-yard field goal early in the second quarter, but he redeemed himself the rest of the game and earned the game ball for his performance. In the fourth quarter, Brindza booted punts of 45, 51 and 51 yards, respectively, that kept Michigan State pinned deep in its own territory after