Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/396685
UNDER THE DOME ning the football. I think that's the most important thing at this point." Even though the run‑ ning game managed only 129 yards against Stan‑ ford, the 32 carries dem‑ onstrated a commitment to keep at it just so the defense had to honor it, thereby helping set up the play‑action pass. "If you just abandon the running game, they're going to drop eight [into pass coverage]," Kelly said. "They're going to double out. You've got no chance. "So we have to keep their linebackers in the box. We had to have a semblance of a running game, and I thought we did a pretty good job of being patient and hang‑ ing in there." Thirty carries has be‑ come a sort of magic number for Notre Dame's rushing attack under Kelly. The Irish have won 25 consecutive games (including all five dur‑ ing this year's 5‑0 start) when it had a minimum of 30 rushing attempts, with the last such loss oc‑ curring to Florida State (35 carries for 93 yards), 18‑14 in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. Meanwhile, also dat‑ ing back to 2011, the Irish have lost six straight games in which they didn't run the ball at least 30 times. K e l l y n o t e d t h a t through the first five games, Notre Dame had run 184 times and passed 178, hardly an indication that he is averse to run‑ ning. "We're not going to go and abandon the running game," he said. "We've got to continue to find some ways to get big runs outside our normal offense." ✦ Forty No Longer Fatal It used to be that 40 passes in a game by Notre Dame — sometimes even 30 — virtually assured an Irish loss. Too many passes were an act of grab-bagging, or desperation. During the 28-21 defeat at Purdue on Sept. 30, 1967, Notre Dame quarterback Terry Hanratty threw the ball 63 times. It marked the first time a Notre Dame team threw more than 40 times in a game (and is still the most). Here are some other notables: • Under head coach Ara Parseghian (1964-74), Notre Dame was 0-5 when attempting at least 40 passes. • The first time Notre Dame ever won a game with 40 passes was 31-24 at Purdue on Sept. 24, 1977. Notre Dame trailed the Boilermak- ers 24-14 in the fourth quarter with quarterback Rusty Lisch having thrown 25 times and backup Gary Forystek three times. In the fourth quarter, third-team QB Joe Montana rallied the Irish to a 31-24 victory with 14 passes (Notre Dame ended the game with 42 total). • The first Irish QB to lead a victory while throwing at least 40 passes himself was Lisch, tossing 43 in an 18-17 comeback win over South Carolina on Oct. 27, 1979. • The Irish had only one game in the 1980s where it threw at least 40 passes — 44 between Blair Kiel and Steve Beuerlein in a 20-0 loss at Miami. • In the 1990s, there was only one game again by the Irish in which a minimum of 40 passes were thrown — 43 by Ron Powlus in a 28-17 loss at Purdue. • From 2000-09, Notre Dame was 3-24 in games where it attempted at least 40 passes, but none of the wins came against ranked teams. Brady Quinn was 2-9 in such contests and Jimmy Clausen 1-11. Prior to the Brian Kelly era, the Irish were 5-32 overall when it threw the ball 40 or more times. Under Kelly it is 7-7. — Lou Somogyi