Freshman linebacker Jaylon Smith made a team-high nine stops, had 1.5 tackles for loss, forced a fumble
and broke up one pass.
photo by Bill panzica
times against Oklahoma — but he was
frequently in the backfield against the
Sun Devils.
Shembo moved into a tie for eighth
place in program history with 17 total
sacks. He also tied his single-game
high with three sacks, a mark he first
reached against Boston College last
November. He said going without a
single sack in the first five games of
the season didn't frustrate him.
"My dad said just be patient,
they'll come," he said. "They come in
bunches. All I've got to do is get that
first one, and they'll keep coming."
Freshman linebacker Jaylon Smith
also sacked Kelly on a third-down
play near the Irish goal line, and junior
defensive end Stephon Tuitt stripped
Kelly on a sack in the fourth quarter.
The most important rush of the night
for the Irish came late in the fourth
quarter with Arizona State backed up
on its own 1-yard line. Tuitt and Sh‑
embo converged on Kelly in the end
zone, and he rushed a throw over the
middle and into the arms of Dan Fox.
The fifth-year senior linebacker took
his first career interception 14 yards
for a game-clinching touchdown.
Jaylon Smith Paces
The Irish Defense
Freshman Dog linebacker Jaylon
Smith produced a stifling defensive ef‑
fort against a versatile Arizona State
offense, finishing the game with a
team-leading nine tackles and adding
