Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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• Braxston Cave — The Irish coach- ing staff already has stated it's look- ing forward to the two-year starting center's return for spring practice after he underwent foot surgery for an injury suffered at Wake Forest on Nov. 5. • Kapron Lewis-Moore — He was Notre Dame's most consistent defen- sive lineman the first half of 2011 be- fore suffering a season ending knee injury late in the loss at USC. In 29 starts, he's produced 140 tackles. • Jamoris Slaughter —The safety has to be the anchor of the 2012 sec- ondary that will be rebuilding minus Harrison Smith, Gary Gray and Rob- ert Blanton. INSURANCE POLICIES This duo could lend veteran depth to the 2012 trenches: • Sean Cwynar — Served as an effective nose guard tag team with Ian Williams in 2010 (33 tackles) and Louis Nix III in 2011 (21 tackles), even though a hand injury limited him in the first half of this season. • Mike Golic Jr. — Could provide the same versatility and experience in the interior, center or guard, that Andrew Nuss did this past season. The Irish have been grooming sopho- more Bruce Heggie and freshman Matt Hegarty for the future at center, but Golic could still be the best op- tion behind Cave in 2012. DARK HORSES This probably would be contingent on filling needs if recruiting numbers are short: • Lane Clelland — Coming off 2011 ACL surgery and he has no career starts, but he has a stout frame, and either he or Golic could compete for the right guard slot vacated by Trevor Robinson. • John Goodman — Beyond junior TJ Jones and senior Robby Toma, Notre Dame is green at wideout. Goodman had a role as the man to catch punts, and he has 28 career catches, with seven this year for 65 yards this year. Is the staff more in- clined to move forward with a youth movement? • Dan McCarthy — Injured much of his first three years, the safety played 11 games on special teams this year and recorded nine tackles. Although Slaughter, junior Zeke Motta and sophomore Austin Col- linsworth return at safety, the safety 34 FEBRUARY 2012 Center Braxston Cave (above) is expected to join safety/linebacker Jamoris Slaughter and defensive end Kapron Lewis-Moore as starters in their fifth season of eligibility in 2012. PHOTO BY JOE RAYMOND NOTRE DAME VS. FLORIDA STATE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame Time of Possession 3rd-Down Conversions 4th-Down Conversions Avg. Field Position Florida State Time of Possession 3rd-Down Conversions 4th-Down Conversions Avg. Field Position 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 9:09 4-6 0-0 5:23 0-3 0-0 ND-45 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 5:51 0-3 0-0 ND-20 9:37 0-4 0-1 FSU-21 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) Notre Dame 2 Florida State 4 Poss. TD FG Score 1 0 2 2 No 1 0 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards (-) Yards 0-5 Yards 6-9 Yards 10-19 Yards 20-29 Yards 30-39 Yards 40-49 Yards 50 or more Yards ND 8 40 13 7 1 1 0 0 FSU 7 35 9 6 1 1 1 0 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FSU-29 ND-29 6:30 2-3 0-0 FSU-47 Notre Dame • 1-10 ND21 Rees pass complete to Eifert for 34 yards to the FSU45 Florida State • 3-5 FSU21 Manuel pass complete to Greene for 33 yards to the ND46 • 3-6 FSU39 Manuel pass complete to Greene for 42 yards to the ND19 ND-25 7:34 1-4 0-0 FSU-30 8:30 2-3 0-0 7:26 1-3 0-0 1st Half 2nd Half Final 14:32 4-9 0-0 15:56 3-6 0-0 ND-31 3-7 0-0 30:28 7-15 0-0 1st Half 2nd Half Final 15:28 0-7 0-1 FSU-24 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) ND-26 ND-28 14:04 29:32 3-14 0-1 FSU-36 FSU-29