Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Tate (2008) and Jeff Samardzija (2005) for the fourth most in a single season in school history. The five in a career match Rhema McKnight (2002-06) for ninth in the Notre Dame record books. Irish Continue To Use Running Back By Committee Notre Dame rushed for 138 yards against Pittsburgh despite the fact no Irish players received double-digit carries in the loss. Freshman Tarean Folston appeared to emerge Nov. 2 against Navy when he rushed 18 times for 140 yards and one touchdown, but his number was called just four times for 13 yards in the loss. Junior George Atkinson III led the team in yards (57), junior Cam McDaniel paced the offense in carries (nine) and the unit even received some help from senior wide receiver TJ Jones, who carried the ball three times for 41 yards and his first career touchdown. Junior Amir Carlisle has been largely out of the mix since fumbling at Purdue Sept. 14, but he carried the ball once for six yards. "It changes from week to week relative to how the game's going, and there were a couple of times we felt like George gave us a better opportunity in there for the kinds of runs we were trying to get on the perimeter," head coach Brian Kelly said. "George is a guy that we like when the game is a perimeter game. It fits George's skill set, so that's why you saw him in the game a little bit more." After rushing 18 times for 128 yards in the first half, Notre Dame kept it on the ground just six times in the second half and totaled 10 yards. Junior Amir Carlisle received the start at running back, but had only one carry for six yards. Five different players carried the ball for the Irish, but no one had more than nine attempts. photo by Bill panzica A Depleted Defense Has To Mix And Match Junior safety Eilar Hardy started in place of senior Austin Collinsworth at Pittsburgh to become the 17th different player to open a game on the Irish defense this season. Safety, however, was not the only position at which head coach Brian Kelly and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco were forced to mix and match. Senior nose guard Louis Nix III played for the first time since the 1410 win over USC Oct. 19 after battling knee tendinitis. He temporarily left the game and doctors reevaluated his left knee, but he reentered a few plays later. When the defense lined up without Nix, a gaggle of backups filled in at the nose guard position, including sophomore Jarron Jones, sophomore Romeo Okwara and even starting fifth-year senior inside linebacker