Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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The 2011 Notre Dame All-Opponent Team Offense Quarterback: Denard Robinson, Michigan — Robinson torched the Irish for the second straight year, passing for 338 yards and running for 108 while having a hand in all five Wolverine touchdowns. Running Back: Curtis McNeal, USC — McNeal had one of his best games of the year against the Irish (24 attempts for 118 yards), and carried the ball 10 straight time to burn the clock and close out the game. Running Back: Asher Clark, Air Force — Clark fumbled on the opening play, but recovered to become the first back to top 100 yards against the Irish defense (11 carries for 102 yards). Wide Receiver: Robert Woods, USC — The Trojans' best weapon had 119 yards and two big TD catches in South Bend, highlighted by a diving grab in the fourth quarter. Wide Receiver: B.J. Cunningham, Michigan State — The wily veteran racked up 12 catches for 158 yards in a losing effort. Tight end: Coby Fleener, Stanford — Fleener carried a cornerback for his first touchdown and outran a safety for his second. He finished with four catches for 97 yards. Offensive Line: USC — The Trojans' front five shocked the Irish by dominating the trenches. They al- lowed only two tackles for loss and kept quarterback Matt Barkley clean all game. Defense Defensive end: Marcus Rush, Michigan State — Rush had seven tackles and two stops behind the line of scrimmage (for minus-10 yards). He was part of a line that held Notre Dame to 3.6 yards per carry. Defensive Tackle: Jerel Worthy, Michigan State — Rush's partner in crime recovered a fumble to highlight his four-tackle day. His biggest contribution was clogging up the line of scrimmage and taking on double teams to limit the Irish to 275 yards total offense (second lowest, behind 267 versus USC). nose Guard: Nikita Whitlock, Wake Forest — At 5-11, 260 pounds, he's small for his position, but Whitlock burrowed into the backfield to cause problems all game while making five tackles. Defensive end: Nick Perry, USC — Perry had six tackles and knocked down a pass at the line against Notre Dame. He was the most athletic of the Trojan linemen that overwhelmed the Irish at times. Linebacker: Luke Kuechly, Boston College — The All-Universe linebacker had 14 tackles while patrol- ling sideline to sideline against Notre Dame. Linebacker: Chase Thomas, Stanford — Thomas set up camp in the Notre Dame backfield with two quarterback hurries, two sacks and a forced fumble on a jarring hit in the first quarter. Linebacker: DeDe Lattimore, South Florida, — Lattimore had nine tackles in the season opener. His biggest play was picking off Dayne Crist's pass in the end zone to preserve a first-half shutout. Cornerback: Nickell Robey, USC — The 5-8, 165-pound sophomore was deemed a mismatch against Michael Floyd, but he helped hold him to four catches for 28 yards, intercepted a pass, broke up another and was active all night with six tackles. Cornerback: Jared Holley, Pittsburgh — Holley had six tackles against Notre Dame, but his big- gest contribution was leading Pitt's successful charge to eliminate Michael Floyd from the game. safety: Michael Thomas, Stanford — Thomas Wake Forest safety Josh Bush, shown here halt- ing Irish running back Cierre Wood, had two interceptions against Notre Dame. PHOTO BY AARON SUOZZI led the Cardinal with eight tackles against the Irish. He also returned an interception 42 yards in the fourth quarter to stop a potential scoring drive. safety: Josh Bush, Wake Forest — Bush lead the Demon Deacons with eight tackles and also had two interceptions, the second of which he returned 54 yards to set up Wake Forest on the Irish 24-yard line. speCiaLisTs Kicker: Maikon Bonani, South Florida, — Bonani went 3 of 4 on field goals in a close game, notably a 49-yarder in the first quarter. His lone miss was from 52 yards in the second quarter. punter: Ryan Quigley, Boston College — Quigley's right leg held the Irish at bay for most of the game. He pinned them inside the 20 six times in nine attempts and averaged 41 yards per kick. Returner: Nick Hill, Michigan State — Hill returned four kickoffs for a total 129 yards against Notre Dame. His longest, a 42-yarder, was wasted by a fake field goal attempt right before the half. 28 JANUARY 2012 than two decades, Irish punk rock blasted through the stadium speak- ers for the first time ever. The uni- versity held nothing back in bring- ing the campus to a boil during the two weeks before the game. The ex- citement of the 2011 football season peaked as the Trojans' Andre Heidari sent the opening kickoff flying into the night sky. It was all downhill from there. The anticipation for Notre Dame's biggest rivalry had been building for five weeks. The Irish climbed back to the verge of a top-25 ranking with four consecutive wins. Now, they had their shot to prove that the first two losses of the year were flukes; that this team was, in fact, a BCS contender. On top of the spotlights, the soundtrack and hosting dozens of the nation's top recruits, Notre Dame tried as hard as it could to build a hostile atmosphere. Athletics director Jack Swarbrick challenged the stu- dent body during their lunch breaks early in the week and arranged for 80,000 rally towels to be handed out at the stadium gates. USC head coach Lane Kiffin took notice that Notre Dame was preparing for its "Super Bowl," borrowing one of Kelly's fa- vorite remarks for an opponent. Lost in all the excitement was there was a game to play against a clearly focused Trojans team with talent coming out of its ear holes. The USC defense forced Notre Dame into a three-and-out, and then the offense chewed up nearly eight minutes of clock before taking a 7-0 lead on its first possession. It was 14-0 shortly thereafter. The pregame fever pitch was gone for good and USC handed Notre Dame a 31-17 loss. THROUGH DAYNE CRIST'S HANDS The third quarter brought a re- OCT. 22 — USC WEEK OPPORTUNITY SLIPS newed sense of hope for Notre Dame fans, followed by a head-shaking, jaw-swaying, stomach-churning bout of déjà vu. The Irish sliced USC's lead to 17-10 by halftime. The Trojans drove down to the 30-yard line to start the third quarter, but opted to punt on the short field rather than risk a lengthy field goal. The Irish offense drove to the Tro- jans 39-yard line before a USC de- fender buckled Rees' knee on a first BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED