Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/561665
GAME PREVIEW: TEXAS BY LOU SOMOGYI TWO FOR THE SHOW The last time Notre Dame took to the gridiron, it used a two-quarter- back system with "runner" Malik Zaire making his first career start and "passer" Everett Golson serving as a safety net. It resulted in a 31-28 upset victory over LSU in the Music City Bowl, with both making vital contributions. Zaire rushed for a team-high 96 yards that complemented his short passing game (12 of 15 for 96 yards) en route to MVP honors. Still, Golson — who connected on 6 of 11 tosses for 90 yards — kept a couple of touchdown drives alive with clutch completions and engineered the game-winning march that ended with a Kyle Brindza field goal as time elapsed. Zaire now has the position all to himself, and the Texas game is the first where he will be expected to go solo from start to finish. Now it's Texas' turn to see if a two- quarterback operation can deliver its own upset. Head coach Charlie Strong confirmed on media day that the plan will be to use both incumbent and junior Tyrone Swoopes plus redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard against the Irish. From 2003-09, Texas was blessed with supreme quarterback play from Vince Young and Colt McCoy. Since then, it's been a walk in the quarter- TOP STOrylineS Redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard, a dual-threat performer who won back-to-back state titles at Denton (Texas) High, is expected to see playing time for Texas in the opener versus Notre Dame. PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS