Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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for now is the zone-read with a legitimate running threat at quarterback with senior Everett Golson, who scored on runs of 11, 14 and four yards, and can keep defenses spread thinner. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. RICE PASS DEFENSE Golson (14-of-22 passing for 295 yards with two touchdowns) was at his best when he had to improvise and extend plays. As expected, the wealth was well distributed with seven receivers accounting for the 14 catches, and no one snaring more than four. Golson threw short, intermedi- ate and long — with two of the deep variety for another potential 90 or so yards muffed by junior slot receiver C.J. Prosise and sophomore wide receiver William Fuller. Most impressive were his completions over the middle to sophomore wide receiver Corey Robin- son (25 yards), senior slot receiver Amir Carlisle (32 yards) and to senior tight end Ben Koyack (28 yards). Golson and the staff had limited confi- dence in his throwing over the middle two years ago, and Robinson was his third read on the afore- mentioned completion. Kelly admitted there is no way Golson could have gone through his progres- sions like that in 2012. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Notre Dame's 80 yards on punt returns — 24- and 25-yard runbacks by fifth-year senior Cody Riggs and 18- and 10-yard jaunts by sophomore Greg Bryant — were like getting seven extra first downs, thus accounting for "hidden yardage." Thanks to special teams returns, three of Notre Dame's eight possessions in the first half began at its 37, 44 and 47, and two of them at Rice's 47 and 49. Kicker Kyle Brindza converted 2 of 3 field goals, and he had seven straight touchbacks on his kick- offs before his last one fell at the 3-yard line. The Irish also stopped a fake punt by the Owls on fourth-and-four in the third quarter. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Notre Dame was 6 of 13 (46.2 percent), while Rice was 6 of 15 (40.0 percent). On the first series of the second half, Rice tried to isolate Luke on a fade on third-and-four from the Irish 29, but his coverage was flawless. On the drive that made it 38-10, Golson completed a 22-yard toss to Carlisle on third-and-nine, and then on a busted third- and-three play from the 4-yard line he ad-libbed to score. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Rice had two and Notre Dame none. The first was a game-changer with senior defensive back Matthias Farley's interception in his own territory in the closing seconds of the first half that set up the back-breaking 53-yard touchdown pass from Golson to Prosise to make it 28-10. An overlooked play is with the Irish leading 14-7, Golson threw a pass way behind Koyack that Rice safety Gabe Baker might have been able to return for a score had he not dropped the errant toss. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SUMMARY This is what you expect from a Notre Dame team going against a mid-major team not from the "Power Five" conferences. Too many times in these type of games in recent years, the Irish op- ponent has continuously hung around and made the contest more interesting than it had to be. Notre Dame's offense needed to demonstrate that it has a chance to be lethal, and it didn't disappoint against the Owls. Special teams made a difference all-around for a change, and the de- fense shut down the run consistently. Those are all good markers to work with heading into the Michigan showdown. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI