Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TURNING POINT With 6:14 remaining in the third quarter, LSU took its first lead (28- 21) on an 89-yard touchdown scam- per by freshman powerhouse run- ning back Leonard Fournette. Notre Dame had controlled the tempo and action until then, but Fournette's ex- plosion appeared to be the cue for the floodgates to once again open against the Fighting Irish en route to their fifth consecutive defeat. It was a potential "here we go again" moment. Instead, on the ensuing series Notre Dame calmly kept it on the ground and, on the fourth play, ju- nior slot receiver C.J. Prosise romped 50 yards on a jet sweep, allowing the Irish to tie the game again and plug what looked like a trickling dam. That immediate answer by the of- fense was a study in composure and provided continued confidence in the eventual Irish conquest. STAT OF THE GAME Three data are tied in as one and allowed Notre Dame to follow its game plan of controlling time and tempo: • First, Notre Dame converted 11 of 17 third-down attempts (64.7 per- cent), including 7 of 9 in the first half while building a 21-14 lead. Because LSU couldn't get the Irish off the field … • Notre Dame controlled the ball 37:19, or 14 more minutes than the Tigers, thereby allowing the young Irish defense to rest. What also al- lowed head coach Brian Kelly's team to control tempo and field posses- sion were … • Zero turnovers by the Irish, a first since the second game of the season, versus Michigan, way back on Sept. 6. Each of these three stats was tied to the other. BRIAN KELLY'S IDEAL OFFENSE Have you noticed in head coach Brian Kelly's five seasons at Notre Dame that the offense — and overall team — seems to function best when it has to lean on a physical ground attack because it is inexperienced at quarterback? In 2010, the Irish went from 4-5 to finishing a surprising 4-0 with freshman quarterback Tommy Rees, while employing mainly a two-tight- end power package for the first time. In 2012, Notre Dame with sopho- more quarterback Everett Golson av- eraged more than 200 yards rushing in a regular season for the first time in 12 years and went 12-0. Versus LSU, first-time starter Ma- lik Zaire, a sophomore, efficiently guided a ground-oriented, read-op- tion attack that amassed 263 yards on 51 carries. It has come to pass that Kelly's teams seem to fare better collectively with the run while developing a physical mentality. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI