Blue and Gold Illustrated

"We put him in good position to suc- ceed. The game plan was such that we wanted to run the football," Kelly ex- plained. "I thought we did that and gave him some throws that we thought would really be high percentage for him. I think it worked out very well for him." Zaire started the game by completing 9 of 10 passes in the opening quarter. The more Texas focused on stopping the run, the more dangerous Zaire be- came. He ripped off a 66-yard scoring strike to junior wideout Will Fuller in the third quarter and another 30-yard pass to Fuller, both off play-action passes. For the game, Zaire was 19-of-22 passing for 313 yards with three touch- downs and no interceptions, which earned him the team's game ball. PICKING UP WHERE HE LEFT OFF In 2014, Will Fuller set sophomore school records with 76 receptions and 1,094 yards, and he tied the school re- cord with 15 receiving touchdowns. With that type of production in his past, it would seem that the junior wide re- ceiver would be the focus of the Texas defense, but that was not the case. Fuller opened the scoring with a 16- yard touchdown reception on a dig route against single coverage. In the third quarter, he was left uncovered on a play-action pass and Zaire hit him in stride for a 66-yard score. Fuller was again left open on an play-action pass to end the third quarter, this time for a 30-yard gain. It is not often a player with his career numbers is left open that much, but the talented junior will certainly take it. "If I can get that coverage every day, it's fine with me," Fuller joked after the game. The Philadelphia native showed off an improved game, combining sound technique with his elite speed to torch the Texas defense to the tune of 142 yards and two scores on seven recep- tions. "I'm just doing what I'm coached to do, Coach [Mike] Denbrock is never wrong," Fuller said after the game. "He's a great receivers coach. I'm just doing what I'm coached to do. If they mess up, we take advantage of it." It was not just in the pass game that Fuller performed well. He, along with the rest of the wide receivers, blocked extremely well in the run game. An area of weakness a season ago, Fuller turned it into a strength against Texas. It was a point of emphasis for him heading into the season. "That's one of the top things on our list to get done," Fuller said of the wide receivers' blocking. "We need to block. We aren't anything without our run- ning backs, and we have to keep hits off of them. We have to block for each other." PRESSURE WHERE IT COUNTS For at least one game, an area of con- cern turned into a tremendous strength. Notre Dame's much-maligned defen- sive line struggled with health and pro- duction during the 2014 season. Kelly has talked often about not having a group of players that can consistently pressure the quarterback, but that was not the case against the Longhorns. The Irish defensive line was domi- nant against Texas, finishing with 15

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