Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/187176
Pass Rush Finally Lands For Irish Notre Dame's defensive line more than doubled its sack production for the season, getting to Arizona State quarterback Taylor Kelly six times in key situations. Prior to beating the Sun Devils, the Irish had only four sacks on the year. After back-to-back weeks of quar‑ terbacks staying just out of reach, the highly touted Irish front seven, led by senior outside linebacker Prince Shembo, finally got its one extra step to turn quarterback hurries into take‑ downs. The improvement was partially thanks to Arizona State's game plan. In previous contests against Michigan State and Oklahoma, opposing quar‑ terbacks did everything they could to get the ball out of their hands as fast as possible. Kelly hung on to the ball longer to try to get his receivers open down the field. "This was the first time that we re‑ ally got into a true drop-back passing game," head coach Brian Kelly said. "The more drop-back passing that we see, we are going to get home. And tonight we were able to." Notre Dame anticipated the extra time and was more aggressive in the players they sent on blitzes. Shembo, who had his first three sacks of the year, said he rushed only four or five Miscellaneous Notes • Junior outside linebacker Ben Councell missed the first half of the game due to an NCAA suspension. Councell was ejected from Notre Dame's loss to Oklahoma Sept. 28 due to a head-to-head targeting penalty. Because the foul occurred in the second half of that game, he was required to sit out the first half of the next contest. Head coach Brian Kelly said he appealed the decision because he didn't believe there was any intent to injure on the play. The appeal was denied. Freshman Jaylon Smith started at the Dog position, and sophomore Romeo Okwara served as his backup before Councell returned to the game in the third quarter. • Among the former Notre Dame players in attendance were 1987 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown, a Dallas native who flipped the coin to start the game; 1981 linebacker Bob Crable, a two-time All-American and the program's all-time leading tackler; Mark Green, a member of the 1988 national championship team; and tight end Robin Weber, a Texas native who caught a gameclinching pass in the 1973 Sugar Bowl win over No. 1 Alabama. • Senior wide receiver TJ Jones caught a pass for the 33rd consecutive game. Jones finished with eight catches for 135 yards and a touchdown. The last time Jones went without a catch was Nov. 27, 2010 in a 20-16 win over USC when he was a freshman. He has caught at least two passes in 29 games during his current streak. • The official attendance was 66,690 at AT&T Stadium, a building with the capacity to hold up to 100,000 fans during some events. • This was the sixth time Irish junior running back Cam McDaniel has played in the palatial stadium. The five previous appearances came during high school playoff games for his team from nearby Coppell, Texas. "I love it," he said. "It feels like my home." • Arizona State has scored first in 15 of its 18 games under current head coach Todd Graham. They kicked a field goal early in the second quarter to take a 3-0 lead. They lost the lead for good with 10 seconds remaining in that quarter and fell to 10-5 under Graham when scoring first.