Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/296331
snap on one of the game's final plays, but Everett Golson and Malik Zaire rarely found themselves in danger of making a big mistake. For a pair of quarterbacks who combined to take zero snaps in the 2013 season, they did a good job of protecting the ball. Zaire came close to making a bone- headed interception throw, but was bailed out when referees ruled he was down before the ball left his hand. Other than that one near snafu, both took care of the ball, which has been a big concern for head coach Brian Kelly in recent years. BIGGEST SURPRISE: PASS RUSH From the very first play of the game, when Malik Zaire took an 11-yard sack with three defenders in his face, Notre Dame's defensive line made its pres- ence known Saturday. The Irish de- fense got to the quarterback for eight total sacks. Defensive coordinator Brian Van- Gorder labeled the pass rush as a definite concern for the group after a practice earlier in the week. With the loss of Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix III up front, the Irish were missing big bodies who could create havoc with individual efforts. During the Blue-Gold Game, they used a large selection of players com- ing from different angles to manufac- ture pressure. It's impossible to tell how many of those quarterbacks Everett Gol- son and Zaire could have wiggled out of if they weren't ruled down at first touch. The mix-and-match offensive line cer- tainly made the job easier, but the regu- lar upfield attack from Notre Dame's defense exceeded expectations. ✦ STATISTICS Rushing No. Gain Avg. TD Long Bryant 12 95 7.9 0 51 Folston 7 38 5.4 0 9 McDaniel 9 33 3.7 1 6 Anderson 1 6 6.0 0 6 Fiessinger 1 -1 -1.0 0 -1 Plantz 1 -2 -2.0 0 -2 Golson 10 -8 -0.8 0 9 Zaire 6 -41 -6.8 0 0 Passing C-A-I Yards TD Long Sacks Zaire 18-27-0 292 2 47 5 Golson 13-23-0 160 0 37 3 Fiessinger 1-4-0 4 0 4 0 Receiving No. Yds. Avg. TD Long C. Brown 5 105 21.0 0 47 Folston 5 54 10.8 0 17 Robinson 3 59 19.7 0 37 Koyack 3 35 11.7 0 12 Prosise 2 61 30.5 1 39 Fuller 2 41 20.5 0 29 Heuerman 2 24 12.0 0 15 McDaniel 2 20 10.0 0 16 Smythe 2 20 10.0 0 14 Hunter 2 14 7.0 0 9 Bryant 1 11 11.0 0 11 Carlisle 1 6 6.0 1 6 Sheridan 1 4 4.0 0 4 Brent 1 2 2.0 0 2 Defense Tackles Sacks-Yds. TFL-Yds. Collinsworth 7 — — Moore 7 — — Turner 7 — 0.5-2 J. Smith 6 — — Larkin 6 — 0.5-1 Hardy 5 — — Cavalaris 5 — 1.0-7 Trumbetti 5 1.0-6 1.0-6 Farley 5 — 0.5-2 Onwualu 4 — — Rochell 4 1.0-3 2.0-4 Okwara 4 3.0-29 3.5-30 Atkinson 4 — — Utupo 4 — —