Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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7 Consecutive victories by Notre Dame in games decided by four or less points — until the 31-27 setback at Florida State. That streak of seven tied the school record set by head coach Elmer Layden's 1937-39 Irish teams and matched from 1972-76 under head coaches Ara Parseghian and Dan Devine. Until this loss to the Seminoles, the last time Notre Dame dropped a game decided by four or less points was to … Florida State, 18-14 in the 2011 Champs Sports Bowl. 9 Straight losses by Notre Dame to an Associated Press top-five team at the time of the game. The last such victory came against No. 3 Michigan (17-10) on Sept. 10, 2005, in Charlie Weis' second game as Notre Dame's head coach. The Wolverines finished 7-5 that year. 9-1-1 Notre Dame's all-time record in games where both teams entered the contest at least 6-0, with the 31-27 loss at Florida BY THE NUMBERS BY LOU SOMOGYI What Worked • Inside running game/Tarean Folston. Most of this season, the Irish relied primarily on an east-west running style to pick up yards, including the jet sweep to the slots. Against Florida State, the Irish were running between the tackles with regularity and success. Notre Dame's 157 yards at 4.5 yards per carry were a pleasant surprise against a stout FSU de- fense. Folston has gained clear separation in the backfield attack the past two weeks, following his 18-carry, 98-yard performance versus North Caro- lina with 21 attempts for 120 versus Florida State. • Nowhere to run (for Florida State). Notre Dame's defensive front seven was so effective against the run that it forced Seminoles quarter- back Jameis Winston to go almost exclusively to the air — which isn't necessarily a positive. Still, veteran power runner Karlos Williams rushed for 126 yards on 21 carries earlier this year in the 56-41 win over North Carolina State and freshman Dalvin Cook broke out on Oct. 11 with 23 carries for 122 yards versus Syracuse. The duo combined for 45 yards on 20 carries versus the Irish. • Tempo/poise. The Irish ran 50 plays in the first half to FSU's 24, and for the most part seemed to have the Noles on their heels with a quicker pace (87 plays overall). The crowd noise didn't appear to have much effect, and Brian Kelly called a strong game. What Didn't Work • Slowing down Jameis Winston in the second half. The blitz packages that seemed to rattle the 2013 Heisman Trophy winner in the first half were picked up a little better in the second half by Flor- ida State, which countered with finding the "hot" receivers in the areas where the blitz came from (usually in the middle). The second half became more of pitch and catch for the Seminoles, with Winston completing all but one of his 16 passes for 181 yards. A telling stat is FSU broke up 10 passes, while Notre Dame had only two. • Return game. Remember when Notre Dame's 106 yards in punt returns after the first two games already matched the total from all of 2013? Since then, the Irish have had only 26 yards in punt returns in five games, and the kick return blocking and overall execution have gradually regressed. • Finishing versus the top five. This was Notre Dame's ninth straight defeat against a team ranked in the Associated Press top five. That and winning a major bowl against a favored opponent (hint: the SEC) are two of the main albatrosses left now on otherwise encouraging all-around progress the past three years. — Lou Somogyi TAKING A CLOSER LOOK