Blue and Gold Illustrated

TURNING POINT This is a tough call given the see- saw nature of the game. Notre Dame won the first quarter 12-0, Virginia took the second quarter 14-0, the Irish captured the third quarter 14-0, and the Cavaliers were winning the fourth quarter 13-0 with less than a minute left. Thus, the choice is the final pos- session with Notre Dame sopho- more backup quarterback DeShone Kizer at the throttle and two plays he made with his legs to set up his game-winning 39-yard scoring toss to junior Will Fuller. The first was on fourth-and-two from the Irish 28- yard line, when Kizer, in an empty backfield, took a quarterback draw for four yards. The next was on first-and-10 from the Irish 43-yard line, when Kizer avoided a sack and threw across the field to junior running back C.J. Pro- sise for 17 yards. STAT OF THE GAME Notre Dame managed to win the game despite finishing 0 of 10 in third-down situations and floun- dering in the red zone. That woeful data is what helped keep Virginia in the game when it looked like in the first quarter that the Fighting Irish were going to win in a runaway. The Irish missed on third-and- goal from the 7-yard line and third- and-one from the 15, leading to two separate first quarter field goals by freshman kicker Justin Yoon. In the second quarter, Notre Dame came up short on third-and-two and then fourth-and-one inside the Vir- ginia 25. In the fourth quarter, on third- and-one near midfield, junior run- ning back C.J. Prosise gained zero yards off the read option, forcing a punt. BRIAN KELLY AT HIS BEST? The Pyrrhic victory against Vir- ginia included a season-ending an- kle fracture to starting quarterback Malik Zaire. To many, that ends any College Football Playoff aspira- tions Notre Dame had in 2015. Yet, head coach Brian Kelly is 15-1 with the Irish when a true freshman or redshirt freshman quarterback has started for him. In 2010, the 4-5 Irish were sup- posed to collapse with freshman Tommy Rees taking over at QB — yet rallied around him for a 4-0 fin- ish. In 2012, redshirt freshman Everett Golson had his ups and downs but was still 10-1 while augmented by a superb supporting cast. A reeling Notre Dame team that had lost four straight started for the first time redshirt freshman Zaire against favored LSU in the Music City Bowl, but he was the MVP in the 31-28 victory. Redshirt freshman DeShone Kizer … the stage is now yours. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI

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