Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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three observations Turning Point In both of Notre Dame's losses this season, its defense surrendered a disheartening touchdown late in the first half. Michigan scored with 1:09 left to take a 27-13 lead, and Oklahoma tallied with 42 seconds remaining for a 21-7 cushion. Arizona State followed the pattern when quarterback Kelly Taylor on a fourth-and-four pass — after the play clock had hit zero but was missed by the officiating crew — connected on a 36-yard touchdown to put the Sun Devils ahead 13-7 with 1:30 remaining. It looked like it would be a broken play, but turned into six points instead. Notre Dame answered with a 71yard drive in eight plays, culminating with an eight-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tommy Rees to senior wide receiver TJ Jones with 10 seconds left. To recover from that late jolt and end up ahead 14-13 at halftime had to provide a significant morale boost. Stat Of The Game Notre Dame entered the game "four-lorn" on defense. During its 3-2 start it had recorded only four sacks, which ranked 119th out of 123 teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision. It also had gained only four turnovers, which ranked 111th. The Fighting Irish responded with four sacks against Arizona State — three of them by senior Cat linebacker Prince Shembo — and numerous other By lou somogyi pass pressures that kept Arizona State contained. They also forced more than one turnover in a game for the first time this season, picking up three on two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Although the scoreboard had Arizona State with 34 points, one of the Sun Devils' touchdowns came on an interception return and another occurred with 11 seconds left in the contest. The Irish defense was disruptive and productive against a lethal offense. Crucial Turnaround While no one at Notre Dame wanted to be 4-2 at the midway point of the season, heading into the bye week with a 3-3 ledger might have been a morale crusher. To defeat a top-25 team entering the break creates an immensely better atmosphere, although the Pyrrhic victory included the losses of junior linebacker Jarrett Grace and senior receiver Daniel Smith to injuries. The 2000 and 2005 Notre Dame teams were 2-2 and 4-2, respectively, prior to earning BCS bowls later that year. That is not what the concentration should be on, but the Fighting Irish will be favored to win the rest of their contests entering the Nov. 30 showdown at Stanford. With time to recover and regroup prior to facing archrival USC, there are still plenty of goals on the table for this team to remain upbeat and motivated.