Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Stopped Cold In sub-freezing weather, the Irish defense chilled Brigham Young in a 23-13 Senior Day win O By Andrew Owens n a blustery and snowy Senior Day against BYU at Notre Dame Stadium, and after an uncharacteristic November loss at Pittsburgh two weeks prior, the Irish defense engineered a 23-13 win over the Cougars to close out the home campaign. Notre Dame scored touchdowns on each of its first two possessions for the first time since the season opener against Temple. After taking a 14-7 lead, the Irish relied upon the defense to maintain the advantage and clinch the team's eighth win for a senior class that now has the most career victories (36) since the 1995 group. Both scoring drives — a 61-yard connection from senior quarterback Tommy Rees to junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels and freshman running back Tarean Folston's second career touchdown — lasted just more than two minutes. Defensive coordinator Bob Diaco's group stifled dynamic sophomore quarterback Taysom Hill, limiting him to 168 yards through the air and an average of just 4.2 yards per carry while holding the Cougars to their lowest scoring output of the season. "We exhibited defensively a physical presence at the line of scrimmage, stopping, except for maybe a long run late in the game, a very, very talented running game and an outstanding quarterback in slowing that offense down," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. Fifth-year senior linebacker Dan Fox stood out as the most active Irish defender with nine tackles (two for loss), a sack and a pass broken up that he nearly intercepted. "We were shedding blockers, getting to the ball and playing like I know we can play," Fox said. Twice in the third quarter Notre Dame stopped BYU in the red zone and held the Cougars to field goals. On third-down holds, the Irish stuffed Hill for a loss of one yard and no gain, with critical contributions from junior linebacker Joe Schmidt and freshman Dog linebacker Jaylon Smith, respectively. "Earlier in the game, [Hill] bounced it outside, and he stiff-armed me," said Smith, who donned No. 13 in honor of senior Danny Spond, who retired before the season due to migraines. "We talked it up on the side-