Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: ARIZONA STATE luck on that one as much as there was talent — they were able to give themselves a new life and energize guys on the team, fans and coaches. Everyone took something from that and they got some momentum. "That was definitely an early turn- ing point for their season." Bercovici played in place of start- ing quarterback Taylor Kelly for three games after the fifth-year senior suf- fered a right foot injury in the 38-24 win over Colorado Sept. 13. Kelly returned to action Oct. 25 in a 24-10 win at Washington and, despite facing wind gusts of 60 miles per hour, com- pleted 14 of 25 passes for 180 yards with two touchdowns. "The biggest thing that having Tay- lor Kelly back allows them to do is run the zone read effectively and help get the run game going," Lockman said. "Taylor Kelly runs it so well, and being the dual-threat quarter- back he is, is the perfect fit for this offense and the way it is designed. If he can get the zone read going, it cre- ates the threat for himself to run, and that makes teams more accountable and ultimately opens things up on the outside." Kelly rushed for 168 yards in the Sun Devils' first three games and should gradually reassert himself in the running game after returning from injury. Notre Dame is well aware of how dangerous Kelly is, after the sig- nal-caller completed 33 of 47 passes for 362 yards with three touchdowns in a 37-34 Irish victory last October. After Arizona State dropped Ber- covici's first start 62-27 at home to UCLA Sept. 25, it looked like head coach Todd Graham's squad might be doomed without Kelly. Bercovici, however, recovered to lead the Sun Devils to consecutive wins against USC and Stanford (26-10), respec- tively. Facts & Figures NOTRE DAME VS. ARIZONA STATE Game Info Date: Nov. 8, 2014. Site: Sun Devil Stadium Field (65,870). Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Television: ABC. Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This is the fourth meeting be- tween Notre Dame and Arizona State. The Irish lead the all-time series 3-0. Coaches: Notre Dame — Brian Kelly (44-16, fifth season); Arizona State — Todd Graham (25- 10, third season). Noting Arizona State: Junior running back D.J. Foster has caught at least one pass in each of his 34 games at Arizona State … In 17 home games under Graham, the Sun Devils have averaged 41.0 points per contest … In its first seven games, Arizona State allowed only five drives to start in its own territory, which ranked second-best in the Pac-12 … The Sun Devils won 13 of their first 17 home contests under Graham … Notre Dame marks Arizona State's fifth opponent in six games ranked in the Associated Press top 25 … The Sun Devils are bowl eligible for the third straight season under Graham, making him just the second coach in school history (John Cooper, 1985-87) to qualify for a bowl game in each of his first three seasons.