Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/195693
murphy's Law dan murphy N Tommy Rees Appreciation Night otre Dame's 14-10 win over rival USC this year will be remembered as Tommy Rees Appreciation Night. Rees became just the fifth Irish quarterback to throw for 6,000 career yards early in the win over USC when he connected with Troy Niklas on the first of his two touchdown passes. The senior quarterback went 6 of 6 on that drive to cap as efficient a first quarter as the offense has put together this season. Head coach Brian Kelly said the career milestone might be one Rees keeps in the memory bank for later. "I'm sure he'll look back on that a little bit later and be able to point out, 'Hey, I did play at Notre Dame and I wasn't that bad,' " Kelly said. And finally, everyone else in earshot will agree. The embattled Irish veteran's two touchdown passes in the first half did little to change outside perceptions compared to the rest of the night. Shortly after delivering a fiery halftime speech, Rees strained his neck when Trojans linebacker Lamar Dawson impaled him into the new sod at Notre Dame Stadium. The head-on collision ended Rees' night and any realistic chances of the Irish adding to a slim 14-10 lead. The offense and its auspicious start disappeared without Rees. Senior Andrew Hendrix didn't complete any of his four pass attempts. He didn't re- After taking a huge hit early in the third quarter, senior quarterback Tommy Rees' night was done — but his value to the team grew appreciably. photo by Bill Panzica ally come close. The team averaged 1.4 yards per play the 30 times they were obliged to snap the ball. Hendrix fumbled once, and so did junior Cam McDaniel, leaving USC with a vault's worth of golden opportunities.