Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TURNING POINT In a span of 1:03, Notre Dame's special teams changed the game's momen- tum on two plays. First, with the Irish clinging to a 21-20 lead, sophomore Tyler Newsome drilled a 52-yard punt that took a favorable bounce and was downed by junior Devin Butler at the 1-yard line with 4:24 left until halftime. Three UMass plays gained only one yard, which set up freshman CJ Sand- ers' 50-yard punt return for a touchdown at the 3:21 mark. When Sanders fielded the ball, no defender was within 20 yards of him, and he weaved to Notre Dame's first tally on a punt return since Golden Tate did so on Nov. 14, 2009 with an 87-yard score in a 27-22 loss at Pitt. The Irish added another TD with six seconds left in the first half to build a 35-20 cushion. STAT OF THE GAME Notre Dame's 457 rushing yards were the most in one game since the 458 recorded exactly 23 years to the day (Sept. 26, 1992) during a 48-0 romp against Purdue, led by Reggie Brooks' 205. The Fighting Irish also nearly had three 100-yard rushers with senior C.J. Prosise (149), freshman Josh Adams (133) and freshman quarterback Brandon Wimbush (92). Especially notable is Prosise has 600 rushing yards — the most ever by a Notre Dame player through the first four games of a season. He eclipsed the previous standard of 543 set by Vagas Ferguson in 1979. The first-round pick Ferguson still holds the single-season mark from that 7-4 regular season with 1,437 yards. TURNOVER TIME If Notre Dame is going to make it through its arduous October schedule un- beaten, an area it might need to improve upon the most is forcing turnovers. Dating back to last year, the Irish defense has generated only five turnovers in the last seven games, and never more than one. The last time it forced multiple turnovers was four against Northwestern last November — but that was nullified because the Irish also committed four in that 43-40 overtime defeat. Notre Dame has a solid defense that can adjust to different games, but not a dominant once with a fierce collective pass rush. Against teams loaded with playmakers such as Clemson and USC, winning the turnover battle could prove pivotal. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI