Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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shirt sophomore running back Bran- don Radcliff to inflict damage on the ground. Bonnafon ran eight times for 63 yards in the first half (not counting two sacks for minus-eight yards), but managed only four yards on three car- ries after halftime. Radcliff, meanwhile, exploded for 127 yards on 15 second-half carries after taking two totes for nine yards before halftime. Along with fifth-year senior running back Michael Dyer 's 13 carries for 61 yards, the three led a Cardinals rushing attack that totaled 229 yards on 50 carries (4.6 yards per attempt). "We felt like we could run the ball, and we did that late in the game," Petrino said. "That is really important to win games." Folston had a strong day running the ball as well, giving Notre Dame its chance to win the game. The soph- omore finished with 18 carries for 134 yards (7.4 yards per carry) and a touchdown. Previously, opponents had averaged 2.8 yards per carry and 87.4 rushing yards per game against Louisville. "My O-line opened up great holes," Folston said. "I had great opportuni- ties to run the ball. "We've been opening up the play- book a lot more. We're doing a great job in the run game." Golson connected on 16 of 24 pass attempts for 236 yards with two touch- downs. His seven-yard third-quarter toss to sophomore wide receiver Corey Robinson gave the Irish their first lead of the day, 20-17, after Folston's six- yard scoring dash brought them within one score to start the second half. In a change from the last seven games, Golson turned the ball over only once, an interception. He had done so 19 times (12 interceptions and seven fumbles) in the previous seven games. "He did some good things," Kelly said. "There are some things that we want to do better, but he made some great plays with his feet … "There are some things that I thought could have gotten the ball out quicker, but I'm not right behind cen- ter." The contributions from Golson's feet did not show up on the stat sheet, which claims he lost 48 yards on six rushes. That includes a 13-yard sack on which he fumbled and Notre Dame lost 32 yards in the scramble to recover the loose ball. More often, though, Golson evaded Louisville pressure. Early in the fourth quarter, with the Cardinals leading 31-20 after a Rad- cliff 15-yard touchdown run, Golson escaped pressure only to heave a mis- guided pass toward Robinson in the end zone. Draped in coverage, Robinson could not get a hand on the ball, but when the Louisville defender knocked it away, it landed in the waiting hands of Notre Dame sophomore wide re- ceiver Will Fuller for a 28-yard score. Fuller finished with 109 yards on five catches. "I was trying to get out and give my six-foot-five wide receiver [Robin- son] a chance," Golson said. "It ended up not going that way and a tipped ball. That is one of those things where you're taking a big risk, especially