Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/200019
Taking A Closer Look What Worked • Scoring quickly. Notre Dame scored a seasonhigh 45 points at Falcon Stadium, but even more impressive was the speed with which the Irish scored. On its seven scoring drives, the longest it took Notre Dame to score was 3:36. On the other six, only the following amount of time elapsed: 1:24, 2:18, 1:09, 3:21, 2:55 and 0:26. Senior quarterback Tommy Rees threw downfield often to move the chains and set up scores. His 17 completions went for an average of 16.7 yards. Notre Dame took advantage of single coverage from Air Force by throwing downfield. • Getting everyone involved. Notre Dame is currently in the soft spot of its schedule and, if the win over Air Force is any indication, head coach Brian Kelly plans on taking advantage of the opportunity to develop some of the team's younger players. Freshmen wide receivers Corey Robinson and Will Fuller and sophomore wide receiver Chris Brown notched their first career touchdown catches, junior tight end Ben Koyack was on the field most of the game in a two-tight-end look and freshman running back Tarean Folston received double-digit carries for the first time this season. On the offensive line, freshman Steve Elmer started and junior Conor Hanratty filled in after fifth-year senior left guard Chris Watt temporarily left the game. The contributions from these players were positive and helped the Irish win comfortably on the road. What Didn't Work • Jumping out to an early lead. Although it did not matter in the end, Notre Dame fell behind early … again. For the sixth time in seven games, the opponent scored first. This time, Air Force took a 7-0 lead before Notre Dame finished the game on a 45-3 run. The Irish moved the ball effectively on the opening drive before stalling in Falcons territory. On fourth-and-two at Air Force's 24-yard line, Elmer committed a false start penalty, forcing the Irish to kick. Junior Kyle Brindza didn't get the ball high enough, and the kick was blocked by the Falcons. Ten plays and 71 yards later, Colton Hunstman scampered into the end zone for Air Force, and the Irish trailed 7-0. • George Atkinson III running the ball. Atkinson provided a lift with his 37-yard kick return in the second quarter that led to an Irish touchdown, but his impact at running back was minimal. Atkinson carried the ball six times for just 18 yards against a small Air Force front and did not receive one carry after the first quarter after earning the bulk of the early carries. Atkinson looks more like a track athlete trying to break long runs than a complete running back most of the time. He does little to utilize his 220-pound build, and his carries against Air Force were a prime example. The running back position as a whole has been disappointing in 2013, but no player has struggled more at the spot than Atkinson. — Andrew Owens by the numbers 2 Freshmen to catch touchdown passes, the first of their careers, for Notre Dame in the same game: Corey Robinson (35 yards) and Will Fuller (46 yards). The last time that happened was Sept. 29, 2007, with Duval Kamara (seven yards) and Golden Tate (25 yards) in a 33-19 loss to Purdue. Freshmen Raghib "Rocket" Ismail and tight end Derek Brown By lou somogyi also caught TD passes from quarterback Tony Rice in a 52-7 victory versus Purdue in 1988. 6 Freshmen offensive linemen in Notre Dame history who have started a game since the NCAA legalized their eligibility in 1972, with Steve Elmer joining the club after season-ending surgery