Blue and Gold Illustrated

IN THE TRENCHES ANDREW OWENS and makeup that far exceeds his ex- perience. Since that afternoon Sept. 12 when he replaced Zaire and led the Irish to a comeback win at Virginia, not much has fazed him. Notre Dame did not lose because it started a sophomore in one of the na- tion's most hostile environments. Kizer finished 19-of-34 passing for 321 yards with two touchdowns and an intercep- tion, but several of those 15 incomple- tions bounced off the hands of his re- ceiving corps. That group of receivers — one of Notre Dame's most impressive units — fell short against the Tigers. Junior Will Fuller seemed to be ab- sent most of the evening, tallying only 37 yards and going scoreless for the first time this fall. Senior Chris Brown, playing near his hometown of Hanahan, S.C., coughed up a costly fumble inside the 5-yard line with the Irish threatening to score and just more than two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. The play mirrored his fumble inside the 5 against North- western last fall in an eventual loss. Lastly, Corey Robinson contin- ues to struggle in his junior season. He dropped what might have been a touchdown on a diving play near the goal line in the first half and a two- point conversion early in the fourth quarter went off his hands before fall- ing incomplete. Notre Dame ended with a deceiv- ing 437 yards of offense, although its second-half surge should not be dis- missed. The Irish dug a 21-3 hole out from which they could not climb. The offense ran 36 plays in the first half, committed five penalties and man- aged 3.8 yards per play, while the of- fensive line was pushed back on nearly every rushing attempt. Senior running back C.J. Prosise totaled four rushing yards in the opening 30 minutes. Clemson's standout defensive line- man Shaq Lawson told reporters after the game that the Irish offensive line was — to steal a baseball term — tip- ping its pitches on run plays until late in the contest with its hand and foot placement. That largely explains the domination of a group that was as im- pressive as any during the first month of the season. It's one of many issues Notre Dame must confront before returning to the field against Navy. The Irish have no margin for error the rest of the way with the College Foot- ball Playoff, which seemed like miles away Oct. 3 in Clemson despite the championship trophy being displayed behind one of the end zones. A two-point loss on the road to a tal- ented Tigers squad does not preclude Notre Dame from championship con- tention. Ohio State reached the four- team field last season after a much weaker loss and what could end up being a weaker schedule than the 2015 Irish slate. Each season tells its own story, not one of 12 months ago. Notre Dame is undoubtedly intent on scripting a dif- ferent conclusion to this fall's tale. ✦ Andrew Owens has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since August 2013. He can be reached at aowens@blueandgold.com

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