Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME tender entering Novem‑ ber. The average quar‑ terback doesn't make plays such as the fourth‑ and‑18 conversion at Florida State during the near game‑winning drive Oct. 18 that Golson did. It was a small sample of his highlight reel. "We know he makes our football team bet‑ ter, and we understand that, especially when he is on a roll," senior run‑ ning back and team cap‑ tain Cam McDaniel said. "I think everybody here knows he's one of the most talented players in the country whenever he wants to be. "He has that potential, and as long as he's con‑ sistent with that, we're going to keep winning games." In baseball terms, Gol‑ son doesn't play "small ball," gradually trying to manufacture runs with bunts, singles and taking pitches. He will mostly swing for the fences with his aggressive style. Against Northwest‑ ern's bend‑but‑don't‑ break defense, Golson realized he had to be more patient but admit‑ ted check downs are not necessarily his favorite option. "I'm getting there," he said with a smile. "That's something that we've developed in the offsea‑ son." The lost fumble at Ari‑ zona State while not se‑ curing the football was carelessnes and there was some communication that should have been better on his part, but he also credits the Sun Dev‑ ils on some batted balls and effective blitzes early. "Everything doesn't go always the way that you draw it up," Golson said. "I think we were prepared for [the blitzes]. I don't necessarily think it went the way we drew it up all the time. There were times we picked it up well." Knowing when to take risks and knowing when not to take them — such as prioritizing convert‑ ing a first down on third down rather than trying a Beyond The Numbers Yielding 55 points looked awful for Notre Dame's defense on paper in its loss at Arizona State. It doesn't always tell the full story, though. Two of ASU's touchdowns came on interception returns. Three other touchdowns came via 23-, 13- and eight-yard drives. The Irish defense was far from its best — especially with fifth-year senior cornerback Cody Riggs and senior linebacker Joe Schmidt sidelined — but the score wasn't quite an accurate barometer. Likewise, head coach Brian Kelly said the seven sacks given up by Notre Dame — the most since a 38-0 loss to USC in 2007 — were not all on the offensive line any more than all five turnovers were on senior quarterback Everett Golson. Considering the Irish fell behind 34-3 in the first half and had to pretty much scrap the run, Kelly said it responded well to score 28 consecutive points and amass 487 yards total offense. "It was going to be a hard day to run the football," Kelly said of the early hole the Irish dug themselves. "… They knew we were going to throw it, and after we made some mistakes — and not just on the offensive line — we picked up everything that they brought. "So when we evaluate our offensive line, we don't look toward them as being central to the issue of turnovers. … It's easy to say, 'All right, it's the offensive line that's breaking down.' We don't see that. Are there areas that we need to get better in? Absolutely. But it's not one specific group." — Lou Somogyi