Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/208902
top players of the game Offense: TJ Jones With two more touchdowns against Pittsburgh, the senior wide receiver has now scored in each of the past seven games for Notre Dame. On the night, Jones caught six passes for a career-high 149 yards, including an 80yard TD reception. He also had three rushing attempts for 41 yards, including a one-yard score. Jones now has 54 receptions for 891 yards and eight touchdowns on the season. All three stat totals represent personal single-season bests, and he is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-yard receiving mark. Defense: Sheldon Day The defense struggled, allowing 28 points and 355 yards to a marginal Panthers offense. The sophomore defensive end, though, was one of the By tom loy few bright spots on the night with his five tackles and three tackles for loss. Day did a very good job of staying active and making plays for the Irish defense, on a night when junior Stephon Tuitt, the other starting defensive end, was disqualified from the game in the first half for targeting. Special Teams: George Atkinson III The junior returned three kickoffs and averaged 24.7 yards per return, doing a good job of getting the Notre Dame offense set up in quality field position. He best effort was a 41-yarder, during which he nearly broke free for a score. That runback was good enough to give him the nod as the game's top performer, on a night where there weren't many highlights on special teams. Senior wide receiver TJ Jones hauled in six receptions for a career-best 149 yards, rushed three times 41 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns (an 80-yard reception and a one-yard run). photo by Bill Panzica