Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME in 12 years (the BCS bid season in 2000). After his academic exile in 2013, Golson picked up where he left off as a viable running threat. In the opener against Rice Aug. 30, he rushed for 41 yards and three scores. Yet against Michigan Sept. 6, Notre Dame was limited to 54 yards rushing on 31 carries, and Golson's three run- ning attempts netted mi- nus-14 yards (the result of a 16-yard sack). The zone read was a non-fac- tor because the running backs almost always were the recipients and Michigan sealed all gaps in the interior. The trade-off was the Wolverines were leav- ing one-on-one coverage on the outside. The re- sult was a lot of slants, screens or skinny-post routes to senior slot Amir Carlisle and soph- omore speedster Will Fuller, who combined for 16 catches, 150 re- ceiving yards and three touchdowns in the 31-0 rout. In essence, the short passing game had to be- come the running game. " C o m i n g i n t o t h e game, they were about a 20 percent man coverage team," Kelly explained of Michigan. "They were about 59 percent man coverage against us. So it changed a little bit NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TICKETS 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS Call today for Special Discount 1-800-925-2500 www.NotreDameTickets.com Heisman Hype: No Distraction Some might contend that a player who is in the discussion for the Heisman Trophy is distracting to a team. To Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly and Irish senior quarter- back Everett Golson, it would be more distracting, and disturbing, not to be. The theory is simple: If Notre Dame has a player seriously in the Heisman discussion — like Heisman runner-up Manti Te'o in 2012 — it means the team is thriving. If not, it is floundering. In 2009, Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen broke the Notre Dame career pass efficiency record (including 28 touchdowns compared to four interceptions) that had stood for 60 years — but he didn't even place in the top 10 Heisman balloting because the team finished 6-6. Kelly said the hype has no influence on recognizing the need to improve. "I don't believe if he's on the Heisman list that that's going to change what he does in his preparation," Kelly said. "If you want to put him on it, that's fine. I think he's grounded enough that he knows what he needs to do to get better." Golson said his only challenge is to meet his own immense stan- dards. "It comes down to what Coach Kelly talked about: preparation," Golson said. "I can only control what I can control. I want to be great, so I think I expect a lot of myself just in my preparation, in my performance. If the Heisman comes, it comes, but that's a by- product of what I expect out of myself." — Lou Somogyi