Blue and Gold Illustrated

UMASS RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE The draw play worked extremely well throughout the opening 15 minutes for the Minutemen, includ- ing 18- and 11-yard gains by Jamal Wilson. Then Marquis Young broke another one for an 83-yard touchdown on the last play of the first quarter. On UMass' second TD drive, Wilson took a third- and-eight draw 16 yards to the Notre Dame 2-yard line. The middle was egregiously open during this time, and with 11 minutes left until halftime, Mas- sachusetts already had 127 rushing yards. From there, the Irish defense clamped down, and the Minutemen produced only 22 rushing yards over the final 41 minutes (including two quarter- back sacks that resulted in minus-19 yards). ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame UMASS PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Overall, it was not a strong day in this area for Notre Dame. The Irish were fortunate that UMass quarterback Blake Frohnapfel (20-of-40 passing for 233 yards with no touchdowns and one inter- ception) missed some open receivers, including a blown coverage early in the fourth quarter on fourth-and-10 from the Irish 18. The QB pressure was okay at best, although se- nior lineman Sheldon Day had three pressures, one tipped ball and a sack. Junior cornerback Cole Luke's pass interference in the end zone was not a good call. A highlight was limiting potential future NFL wideout Tajae Sharpe to 83 yards on his eight catches, with none going for more than 15 yards. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. UMASS RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame's offensive line was the overwhelm- ing difference in this game while producing 457 yards on the ground — the school's highest output in 23 years. Senior running back C.J. Prosise re- mained the dominant figure, highlighted by nine carries for 124 yards in the first quarter, with the zone sweep (his favorite play) consistently read well. The staff was creative at using quarterback De- Shone Kizer effectively on some zone reads (nine carries for 42 yards, including a seven-yard touch- down) and fifth-year senior slot receiver Amir Car- lisle on a couple of jet sweeps, and integrating freshman Josh Adams early when the game was still competitive. Adams had five carries for 26 yards in the first half, and his 70-yard TD jaunt in the second stanza enabled him to finish with 133 yards. Freshman signal-caller Brandon Wimbush also tallied a 58-yard score off a zone read in which he displayed power and explosiveness. The QB posi- tion totaled 134 rushing yards, the most since Tony Rice had a 141-yard output at Penn State in 1989. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. UMASS PASS DEFENSE Massachusetts' plan was to limit game-breaking junior wideout Will Fuller by playing more double- zone coverage, and it paid off by limiting him to four catches for 57 yards. But because Fuller is aligned on the wide side of the field, that type of coverage leaves a defense more vulnerable against the run and on passes over the middle. Sophomore DeShone Kizer (15-of-22 passing for 207 yards with two touchdowns and one intercep- tion) distributed the wealth patiently and well, with Carlisle the top target (five catches for 52 yards) and freshman tight end Alizé Jones catch- ing three passes on simple openings inside for 56 yards. Kizer's seven-yard fade to senior wide receiver Chris Brown for a TD in the closing seconds of the first half also was perfectly executed, unlike the previous week on the fade to Corey Robinson that was intercepted. Not getting greedy or forcing it to Fuller were pluses. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI

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