Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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etrated the Cardinal 25-yard line four times in the first half — but came away with only nine points (three short field goals by freshman kicker Justin Yoon). Notre Dame successfully contained Stanford All-America candidate Chris- tian McCaffrey and prevented an ex- plosive gain. He rushed 27 times for 94 yards and caught three passes for 19 yards. In order to keep him from breaking a long kickoff return for a score, Notre Dame utilized starting defenders Joe Schmidt, Jaylon Smith, Elijah Shumate, Cole Luke and Max Redfield on the coverage team. "It was all about McCaffrey and making sure that he did not wreck the game on special teams," Kelly said. "I thought we did a great job on special teams and kept him out of changing the complexion of the game from that standpoint. "I thought we kicked it well, and punted it well and covered it well. I thought we got the upper hand in special teams other than obviously the field goal they kicked at the end." With senior running back C.J. Prosise sidelined because of an ankle injury, Adams again filled in admirably in the starting role. He rushed 18 times for 168 yards and one touchdown, with Kizer adding 128 yards on the ground against the Stanford defense. Adams' perfor- mance marked a freshman single-game rushing record for the Irish. "He's unbelievable," Kizer said. "He came out there like he was a fifth-year veteran. He runs harder than anyone I've ever seen. He truly is a great team- mate, and he puts everything on the line each play. That's what you have to ask for out of your running back, and that's what he gave us. "To have him in the backfield with me is truly a privilege. From one to four at every position, we might not be the most talented all the way across, Senior safety Elijah Shumate and the Irish defense kept Stanford star running back Christian McCaffrey in relative check, limiting him to 94 rushing yards on 27 carries. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA