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✦ top storylines: notre dame vs. byu Junior George Atkinson III, who scored the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter, was part of an Irish rushing attack that piled up 270 yards against the Cougars' No. 2-ranked run defense in a 17-14 win last year. photo by bill panzica Stanford — two of the most dangerous return teams in the country — it might need to be the X-factor. Notre Dame currently ranks 121st in kickoff coverage (26.1 yards allowed per return) and 89th in punt coverage (9.9 yards surrendered per runback) among 123 Football Bowl Subdivision teams, one of the worst combinations in the land. BYU is eighth nationally in kickoff returns with a 26.0-yard average, led by sophomore Adam Hine, whose 29.5-yard average ranks No. 6 in the country. "Their scheme is very solid," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said of BYU's kickoff returns. "They do a very good job of setting up some of their counters back to the field. … They do a very good job of disguising what they do week to week." As for Notre Dame's problems on kickoff coverage … "We call it search and destroy," Kelly said. "We are really good at the destroy part. "We need to get better at the search part, and we'll have to be really good at searching, because they do a very good job with their return team." However, BYU also has lost its top punt return man (JD Falslev) to an injury, had three punts blocked, and are only 104th in net punting (34.8 yards) and 100th in kick return defense (23.7 yards allowed per attempt). In their 47-46 win at Houston Oct. 19, the Cougars surrendered a 95yard kickoff return touchdown. Kelly believes junior George Atkinson III and senior TJ Jones have been on the threshold of breaking the big one on returns. BYU might appear vulnerable there. "We need to pick up the game as it relates to special teams," Kelly said. 7225 Heritage Square Drive, Granger, IN 574-272-2292 | SohoJapaneseBistro.com Japanese Bistro / Tapan Grill / Sushi Bar Minutes From Notre Dame ✦ Page 9