Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/216396
three observations Turning Point With Notre Dame leading 20-13 early in the fourth quarter and facing second down at the Brigham Young 22, senior quarterback Tommy Rees flung the ball down the sideline and into the end zone toward a briefly open junior tight end Troy Niklas. The underthrown pass was intercepted by BYU free safety Craig Bills for a touchback. Interception tosses in losses to Michigan, Oklahoma and Pitt were pivotal, and this had the makings of another game-changing momentum swing. The Irish defense did not flinch and forced BYU to punt (26 yards) after five plays and 13 yards. Notre Dame then drove 25 yards to set up Kyle Brindza's 51-yard field goal to provide the two-score cushion at the 6:53 mark. Notre Dame did not permit a touchdown over the final 51:48 and excelled in the red zone, but the stop after what could have been a deflating turnover was especially crucial. Stat Of The Game While it was noteworthy that Notre Dame finished with exactly 235 yards on the ground and 235 through the air, the containment of Brigham Young quarterback Taysom Hill stands out most. The tough and talented dual-threat Hill produced 269 yards of total offense (168 passing and 101 rushing), but he couldn't quite make the crushing plays among the 60 times he ran or passed the ball. His 36 pass attempts By lou somogyi averaged only 4.7 yards per attempt (anything under 6.0 is good for a defense), and not one of his 21 completions gained more than 15 yards. Many, if not most, of his 24 rushes were not by design but desperate scrambles. None of his runs produced more than 16 yards, and he was contained in the red zone. The Irish had struggled against dual-threat quarterbacks this year, so limiting the explosive Hill and Co. to 13 points was terrific work. This Was What Was Expected There was the Notre Dame team overall we were expecting to see back in August: Offensively, commit to and execute the run (235 yards rushing, 5.0 yards per action) and mix in effective play-action without putting too much of an onus on quarterback Tommy Rees. Defensively, don't worry about yardage yielded (415) while keeping points down (13). Special teams, deliver when needed (3 of 3 on field goals, and also blocking a field goal). In other words, the approach was similar to the 2012 template that carried Notre Dame into the BCS National Championship Game. Physical, no-frills, fundamentally sound football without the "style points," but efficient and productive in all three phases. This well-earned victory in the snow brought back some of that old school, or even 2012, feeling. It will be needed even more in the finale at Stanford.