Blue and Gold Illustrated

TURNING POINT If there was one point in the game where momentum seemed to head toward Texas, it was mid- way through the third quarter. The Longhorns finally put points on the scoreboard with a field goal to nar- row their deficit to 17-3, and then on the kickoff they pinned Notre Dame back at its 10-yard line. From there, the Irish ran four straight times to give themselves some breathing room before junior quarterback Malik Zaire uncorked a deep pass off play action to open classmate Will Fuller blowing past the Texas defense for a 66-yard touchdown. The tally with 5:50 re- maining in the third quarter basi- cally shut the door on any comeback hopes Texas had. It also appeared to demoralize the Longhorns, who went three-and- out the ensuing series and then saw Notre Dame score another touch- down five plays later. STAT OF THE GAME Junior quarterback Malik Zaire had a 250.9 quarterback rating while completing 19 of 22 pass attempts for 313 yards with three touch- downs and no interceptions. The highest rating any Irish quarterback had after a full season was Jimmy Clausen's 161.42 in 2009 — which broke a 60-year record held by Bob Williams (161.37) for the 1949 na- tional champs. Although it was Zaire's second ca- reer start overall, it was as impres- sive a starting debut by any Irish quarterback in Notre Dame Stadium, rivaled only by sophomore Terry Hanratty (16-of-24 passing for 303 yards with three touchdowns) in a 26-14 victory versus No. 8 Purdue in 1966, and sophomore Tom Clements connecting on 17 of 24 throws for 287 yards with two scores in a 35-14 vic- tory versus Purdue in 1972 (his first career start in Notre Dame Stadium). RUNNING BACK RESOURCES Minus junior Tarean Folston, who suffered what appears to be a se- vere knee injury in the first quarter versus Texas, Notre Dame's four scholarship running backs are as green as they come, from seniors to freshmen. Senior C.J. Prosise began his ca- reer at safety, had an audition at linebacker and played in the slot last year. He didn't really start learning running back until this past spring. Another wide receiver, sophomore Justin Brent, was converted to run- ning back in August after the ineli- gibility and transfer of junior Greg Bryant. Then between the two true fresh- men, Josh Adams, had to come back from a serious knee injury as a high school junior. How this group holds up and develops through the year will be pivotal to Notre Dame's Col- lege Football Playoff contention. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI

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