Blue and Gold Illustrated

Oct. 6, 2014 Issue

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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setback. Adding Torii Hunter Jr. on two fly sweeps for 13 yards was a bonus. Everything was built off the wide receiver screens. Once Syracuse had to spread out its defense, the run opened up a little better between the tackles in the second half. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. SYRACUSE PASS DEFENSE With Syracuse overloading the gaps on the inside versus the run, Irish head coach Brian Kelly repeat- edly called the wide receiver screens on the edge, with some middle screens or quick slants (such as sophomore Will Fuller's 23-yard touchdown to open the scoring), and the plays included better blocking on the perimeter by the wideouts after the catch. Syracuse seemed willing to concede the short, horizontal passing game all night, which led to Golson's near NCAA record of 25 consecutive completions. He finished the contest 32-of-39 pass- ing for 362 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. Only about a handful of Golson's 39 passes trav- eled more than 10 to 15 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, but the 72-yard rocket to Fuller that extended the lead to 14-0 in the second quarter got Syracuse's attention even more, resulting in contin- ued methodical gains with the receiver screens and short passes. With Syracuse applying constant fire- zone pressures, it was imperative for Golson to get rid of the ball quickly, and he did. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Other than Riley Dixon's 42-yard run off a fake punt by Syracuse — which still ended up producing zero points — this area was not a huge factor for either team. A plus for Notre Dame was recovering both onside kick attempts by the Orange. ADVANTAGE: Even THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Other than maybe the wide receiver screens, Notre Dame dominated this aspect the most, finish- ing 9 of 14 (64.3 percent) while Syracuse was 3 of 15 (20.0 percent). On its 95-yard TD drive for their first score, the Irish converted third-and-seven from its 8-yard line. The game truly tilted in Notre Dame's favor in the opening first two series of the second half, first with the Irish forcing an interception on third-and- eight, and then converting a third-and-six with a seven-yard pass to Will Fuller to set up an eight- yard scoring pass to Corey Robinson that provided a 21-3 cushion. Syracuse began 1 of 10 on third-down conversions. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Despite the Orange forcing five turnovers while Notre Dame generated only one, the damage was mitigated to the degree that Syracuse managed just two touchdowns from them — including an interception return for a score — while the Irish set up a touchdown drive to make it 21-3 on Farley's interception. Syracuse had to feel great frustration right at the end of the first half when a Golson fumble was blown dead as an incomplete pass while the Orange player was going the other way with the ball for a score. Replays showed it was indeed a fumble, but the TD could not count. ADVANTAGE: Syracuse SUMMARY It speaks volumes about the talent discrepancy be- tween the two teams when Notre Dame can be mi- nus-four in turnovers (5-1), yet still win by 16 points. A minus-four result generally will get a football team beat about 95 percent of the time, yet the Orange never posed a major threat to pull off the upset. The first four games were the light part of Notre Dame's schedule, although we didn't expect Michi- gan to be hurting as badly as it is. Now that the calendar flips to October, the stakes go up against much stronger competition. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI

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