Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ARIZONA STATE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Whether senior linebacker Joe Schmidt's presence could have made a difference against the Sun Devils is not certain. Even before Schmidt's season-ending ankle injury the previous week versus Navy, the Irish defense had been treading water the previous three games, with the first half at Florida State Oct. 18 the lone exception. ASU often gashed the Irish interior in the first half, with the defense missing more tackles than usual or not filling gaps, en route to 188 yards on the ground. After Notre Dame cut its deficit to 34-31, Arizona State's first two plays were 14- and 15-yard runs to the outside by junior running back D.J. Foster (21 carries for 120 yards) that sparked a 75-yard touch- down drive. Freshman running back Demario Richard (13 car- ries for 50 yards) also ran well and fifth-year senior quarterback Taylor Kelly (seven carries for 18 yards on a couple of zone reads) did just enough to keep the Irish defense on its heels, especially when ASU played at a fast pace. ADVANTAGE: Arizona State ARIZONA STATE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE During early August training camp, Notre Dame's starting defensive backfield included cornerbacks KeiVarae Russell and Cody Riggs and safeties Austin Collinsworth and Max Redfield. Only the sophomore Redfield was available at Arizona State. This area has become vulnerable in recent weeks, and the veteran Kelly (17-of-28 passing for 224 yards with three touchdowns and one interception) exposed it, despite missing on several deep balls when Irish defenders were beat. The effective- ness was especially enhanced early when Arizona State, like North Carolina earlier in the year, went up-tempo. ADVANTAGE: Arizona State NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. ARIZONA STATE RUN DEFENSE Seldom does anything positive happen to a college football team that manages only 41 rushing yards on 38 carries, although the subtraction of sacks (seven for 64 yards) to the rushing figure still remains mis- leading. The bottom line is Notre Dame's line and ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Junior lineman Sheldon Day and the Irish defense struggled to slow down the ASU rushing attack, yield- ing 188 yards on 45 carries (4.2 yards per rush). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA