Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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RUN GAME DOMINANCE CONTINUES The Notre Dame ground attack was at it again, fueling the Irish offense en route to a 62-27 blowout victory over UMass. For the fifth straight game — a stretch that includes last season's Music City Bowl victory over LSU — Notre Dame rushed for at least 214 yards. It also marks the first time since 1989 that the Irish offense rushed for at least 200 yards in the first four games of the season. Against the Minutemen, the Irish passed the 200-yard mark by halftime, rushing for 206 yards (7.6 yards per rush) in the first two quarters. Notre Dame finished with 457 yards on the ground and averaged 9.0 yards per rush. Senior C.J. Prosise again led the charge, rushing for 149 yards on only 15 carries. He was joined in the rush party by freshman Josh Adams, who set a career high with 133 yards on 13 attempts. Adams broke free on a 70-yard touchdown run to end Notre Dame's scoring for the game. While the talent in the backfield is obvious — and gets most of the credit —the Irish line continues to drive the offense. "We were pretty good up front of- fensively," head coach Brian Kelly said after the victory. "We're able to control the line of scrimmage … I think that was the difference in the ballgame." UMass head coach Mark Whipple concurred during his post-game re- marks. "We just couldn't handle their of- fensive line," he said. "Their offensive line just manhandled us." Notre Dame's experience up front has been a vital factor in the suc- UMASS GAME NOTES NOTRE DAME VS. UMASS QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 8:52 7:21 7:19 6:43 16:13 14:02 30:15 Third-Down Conversions 1-2 3-4 3-4 1-3 4-6 4-7 8-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position ND-13 ND-26 ND-38 ND-19 ND-20 ND-32 ND-26 UMass 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 6:08 7:39 7:41 8:17 13:47 15:58 29:45 Third-Down Conversions 0-3 2-5 0-4 3-4 2-8 3-8 5-16 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 0-1 0-1 1-1 0-2 1-3 Average Field Position UM-23 UM-23 UM-19 UM-21 UM-23 UM-19 UM-21 BY BRYAN DRISKELL PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND UM (-) Yards 4 9 0-5 Yards 31 44 6-9 Yards 24 5 10-19 Yards 13 13 20-29 Yards 3 3 30-39 Yards 1 1 40-49 Yards 0 0 50 or more Yards 3 2