Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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caller DeShone Kizer, Kelly improved to 19-2 at Notre Dame (entering last week's Temple game) when he has a true freshman or inexperienced sopho- more (i.e., one who didn't play as a rookie) quarterback starting, and 32-19 when there is more of a veteran to sling around the football. In the 41-31 victory versus USC Oct. 17, Notre Dame continued to dis- play patience on the ground. After fall- ing behind 31-24, the Irish marched 90 and 91 yards for touchdowns, primar- ily utilizing its running game. The 90-yard drive didn't include a completed pass, but 30 yards were picked up when USC continued to play man coverage on junior wideout Will Fuller and had two pass interference infractions on deep balls. Senior running back C.J. Prosise — who finished with 19 carries for 143 yards, plus five receptions for 32 yards on short flips that really could be con- sidered running plays — ran five times for 25 yards, while Kizer made a cru- cial 23-yard scramble on third-and-five from his 15 and added a 12-yard run off the zone read. The ensuing 91-yard Irish drive to move ahead 38-31 began with Prosise runs of 17 and 25 yards, and was later highlighted by a pass from junior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. to freshman tight end Alizé Jones for 35 yards on a trick play. In other words, the run was effective at setting up the play-action pass. "What I feel more than anything else in terms of how the plays were being called is that we have to temper our want to keep throwing the football when you have a Will Fuller out there — you feel like you have some guys that really can make plays," Kelly said. "I don't want to forget about what we have with our running game. Some- times when you know you have those kind of weapons, you almost get too happy with wanting to get the ball out to those guys. I think it's a little bit of a different feeling this year." Kizer's effectiveness is enhanced be- cause he's not being asked to necessar- ily win games by chucking the football all over the field. The running attack with Prosise, a strong offensive line and a solid zone-read threat in Kizer (Rees was not a factor with that play, and Golson was somewhat uncomfortable with it) enabled the Irish to rush for 214 yards against a USC defense that prioritized stopping the run. "We don't have to put it on [Kizer throwing]," Kelly summarized. "We can go to the running game and really limit his exposure." The 90- and 91-yard drives were a tes- tament to the offense's trust and com- mitment to the run, which entering the Temple game was ranked 15th nation- ally with 234.6 yards per game and 5.95 yards per carry. If that figure holds form the remainder of the season, it would be the highest at Notre Dame since Lou Holtz's final season in 1996. "You have to have a presence there," Kelly said of the ground attack. "A more effective running game is going to allow you to go 90 yards. And you've got to have a quarterback that is able to manage the plays necessary for you to go 90 yards. "Most defenses would say that if you go 90 yards, good luck to you. You're probably going to make a mistake