Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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they knew we were going to run it and were obviously stacking the line of scrimmage." Notre Dame broke away from its habit of rotating between its three running backs series by series in the first three games and primarily played sophomore Tarean Folston and senior Cam McDaniel. Sophomore Greg Bry- ant rushed just once for six yards in the first half. In the second half, however, Bryant carried the ball 10 times. While his play was limited following a fumble late in the third quarter — one of five Irish turnovers — he finished with 55 rushing yards on 11 carries. Both were team highs. Notre Dame also had more success with the east-west running game than in recent weeks, with sophomore wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. (13 yards) and Folston (14 yards on a third-down play in the first quarter) both providing sparks on sweeps. At 4-0, the Irish will be tested by a Stanford program that Kelly annu- ally refers to as the litmus test for how physical Notre Dame is. The Cardinal — adjusting to life without a number of defensive leaders from 2013, includ- ing rush end Trent Murphy and line- backer Shane Skov — allowed a mere 81 rushing yards at Washington in a 20-13 win Sept. 27. RECEPTION PERCEPTION As he battles a brace protecting a thumb still healing from a break suf- fered a week before the season, sopho- more wide receiver Corey Robinson battles his reputation as well. Due in no small part to his 6-4½ height — for which he can largely thank his NBA Hall of Fame father, David — the sophomore wide receiver is often re- garded as simply a jump-ball threat. He may be dangerous in the red zone, but not as much elsewhere, the mis- conception goes. "Everybody has the sense that Corey is the big target that's rangy that you • Torii Hunter Jr. wasted little, if any, time in his collegiate debut. After battling injuries for more than 18 months, the sophomore lined up as a re- ceiver in the fourth quarter. Soon thereafter, he notched his first stat, taking a handoff for a six-yard gain. On the next play, senior signal-caller Everett Golson connected with Hunter for a 13-yard touch- down pass. "Anytime you catch a touchdown your first time getting the ball, you've got something good going," Golson said. "He was just happy, kind of like a kid in the candy store." Head coach Brian Kelly pointed out the entire team was happy, not just Hunter, who finished with two carries for 13 yards and the one catch. "The guys were pretty excited for him," Kelly said. "He's well liked by all the players." • Fifth-year senior captain Austin Collinsworth did not take the field against Syracuse, despite Kelly saying earlier in the week that the safety would. Collinsworth had sprained his MCL two days before the season opener. Instead, junior Elijah Shumate and sophomore Max Redfield maintained their holds on the position. "[Collinsworth] was really pegged for an emer- gency situation," Kelly said. "We want to get him back to full speed before we put him in there." Senior slot receiver Amir Carlisle, who sprained his MCL in the Purdue contest Sept. 13, did not travel to New Jersey. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES