Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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UNDER THE DOME tation where his teams were at their best in the home stretch. In the six seasons from Cen- tral Michigan through Notre Dame in 2007-12, Kelly was 25-3 in No- v e m b e r / D e c e m b e r games, including a 15- game winning streak. H o w e v e r, h i s N o - vember ledger dropped Alex Bars Ruled Out For The Year Sophomore left guard Alex Bars became Notre Dame's seventh player on the two-deep this year to endure a season-ending injury when he incurred a fractured ankle against USC Oct. 17. Bars started in the wins over Navy and USC because classmate Quenton Nelson had suffered an ankle injury during the loss at Clemson Oct. 3. However, Bars suffered a frac- tured left ankle in the second quarter against the Trojans, so a still slightly hobbled Nelson finished out the 41-31 Fighting Irish victory. The following day, it was revealed by Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly that Bars would have surgery and miss the remainder of the 2015 campaign. Nelson was back in the start- ing role against Temple, with ju- nior Colin McGovern listed as his backup at left guard. Six other Notre Dame starters or co-starters have been sidelined for the balance of 2015: senior nose guard Jarron Jones (torn MCL) and freshman nickel Shaun Crawford (torn ACL) both suffered season-ending knee injuries in August; junior running back Tarean Folston (torn ACL) did so seven plays into the opener versus Texas; junior quarterback Malik Zaire (fractured ankle) in the third quarter at Virginia; junior tight end Durham Smythe (torn MCL, plus shoul- der surgery) late in the Virginia game; and sophomore safety Drue Tranquill (torn ACL) late in the first half the next week versus Georgia Tech. Kelly described Bars' injury as similar to Zaire's. — Lou Somogyi Bars, a sophomore, will miss the remainder of the 2015 season with a fractured left ankle he suffered in the 41‑31 win against USC Oct. 17. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA