Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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and his defender, knowing he would not intersect with other routes or Stan- ford defensive backs. He was, for all intents and purposes, on an island. "You're on your own, by yourself. Then it's just one-on-one for the most part," he said. "If they throw me the ball, I know it doesn't come down to anything else. There's no other fac- tors." That isolation led to two catches for 20 yards on the pivotal drive, in- cluding a 17-yard reception for a first down on a third-and-10. "I got a big third-down catch and I had to make that play," Robinson said. "That's a cool thing when you can say you made a play and you can say you made the best out of the situation." LOOTING LUKE Sophomore defensive back Cole Luke logged his first career intercep- tion in the first quarter when Cardi- nal quarterback Kevin Hogan was flattened by the Irish pass rush as he threw the ball. "I don't know what happened," Luke said of the pick, a flailing wounded duck of a throw he de- scribed as a cornerback's dream. "I think someone disrupted him during the pass, so I have to give all the credit to the D-linemen and whoever was coming in on the blitz." To make his career day even more notable, Luke picked off Hogan again in the fourth quarter, this one on a bobbled ball that happened to find its way to his mitts. "Cole played a great game," said senior linebacker Joe Schmidt. "He's been really coming along. He's work- ing on his craft every day. … He's a guy that comes to work every day, and that's what I love about Cole Luke." Luke also had one sack and a forced fumble, furthering his afternoon-long pestering of Hogan. SIX SECONDS GONE IN A FLASH When junior safety Elijah Shumate buried Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan in the turf with six seconds remaining — Hogan barely got rid After being shut out through three quarters, soph- omore wide receiver Corey Robinson hauled in four passes for 46 yards in the fourth quarter — includ- ing two for 20 yards on the game-winning drive. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA