Blue and Gold Illustrated

UNDER THE DOME Durham Smythe Out For The Rest Of 2015 On Sept. 15, junior tight end Durham Smythe underwent knee and shoul- der surgery because of a torn MCL in his right knee incurred in the closing seconds of the 34-27 victory at Virginia three days earlier, plus a right shoul- der problem that had been lingering. In the victory against the Cavaliers, Smythe scored his first career touch- down on a fake field goal when sophomore holder/quarterback DeShone Kizer flipped him a shovel pass on a sweep that went for seven yards. Through the first two games, Smythe took 105 of the possible 123 first-team snaps on offense, although a second or third tight end also sometimes lined up with him. Smythe, who is projected to return to action in the spring and has two years of eligibility remaining, had a monopoly with the playing time at tight end because he was the best combination of blocker, route runner and pass catcher. Among the four scholarship players behind him, sophomore Tyler CHARTING THE IRISH POWER SUCCESS RATE One issue that stuck out from the game against Virginia was Notre Dame's struggles in short-yardage situations. "We were largely ineffective in our short-yardage run game," head coach Brian Kelly said. "There are a number of reasons for it. There were some miscues, but some credit goes to Virginia." Power Success Rate is a statistic that examines the percentage of runs on third or fourth down with two yards or less to go that are converted for a first down or touchdown. It also includes first-and-goal and second-and-goal from the 2-yard line or closer. The national average is around a 67-percent success rate, and the best teams in the country are suc- cessful four of every five tries on average (80 percent). Against Virginia, the Irish were only successful on one of five attempts (20 percent). One game certainly doesn't make a trend, but with the overall talent on Notre Dame's offensive line, one would not expect to see many more repeat performances on this level. Even the worst teams in the country average around a 50-percent success rate in PSR situations. POWER SUCCESS RATE CHART — NOTRE DAME VERSUS VIRGINIA Situation Outcome Result 1Q, third-and-1 at UVa 15 Josh Adams, 0-yard gain Unsuccessful 2Q, third-and-2 at UVa 25 Malik Zaire, 1-yard gain Unsuccessful 2Q, fourth-and-1 at UVa 24 C.J. Prosise, 1-yard loss Unsuccessful 4Q, third-and-1 at UVa 49 Prosise, 0-yard gain Unsuccessful 4Q, fourth-and-2 at ND 28 DeShone Kizer, 4-yard gain Successful

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