Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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solo) were 48 more than anyone else on the team. MVPS: DESHONE KIZER (OFFENSE) AND SHELDON DAY (DEFENSE) No one had a bigger impact on Notre Dame's record than sophomore quarter- back DeShone Kizer. After junior Malik Zaire was lost for the year in the second game of the sea- son, Kizer was thrust into the lineup at Virginia. He responded with a come- from-behind 80-yard scoring drive that was capped off with a 39-yard game- winning touchdown pass to Fuller. He would direct three come-from-be - hind wins in the fourth quarter — and just missed a fourth at Stanford when af- ter orchestrating an 88-yard touchdown march that put Notre Dame ahead 36-35 with only 30 seconds left (with Kizer running for the score), the Irish defense wasn't able to hold up its end of the deal. His 3,099 yards of total offense dur - ing the regular season — 2,600 passing and 499 rushing — tied the previous sophomore year standard set by Jimmy Clausen in 2008 during a 7-6 campaign. The difference is Clausen was not a dual threat with his minus-73 yards rushing that season. Kizer's 151.7 rating in pass efficiency dwarfed the 132.5 that Clausen had that season and was the best in the six-year Kelly era. With 499 rushing yards entering the Fiesta Bowl, Kizer also was looking to join Tony Rice (1988-89) and Carlyle Holiday (2001) as the lone Irish quarter - backs ever to rush for at least 500 yards in a season, and his nine rushing scores tied the school record by Irish quarter- back. Without Kizer's dramatic emergence after losing Everett Golson to transfer (Florida State) and Zaire to injury before the end of the second game, the Irish do not sniff 10 regular-season wins and a New Year's Six bowl. On defense, senior defensive tackle Sheldon Day remained a force along the perimeter or in the interior despite the absence of his classmate and compatriot along the line, Jarron Jones. Entering the bowl, his 14.5 tackles for loss were the most since Derek Landri (15.5) and Victor Abiamiri (15) in 2006, while his 13 QB hurries were nearly double of anyone else on the team. His disruptive skills combined with his strength and hand technique may have worked him into the first two rounds of this spring's NFL Draft. MOST IMPROVED: MIKE MCGLINCHEY (OFFENSE) AND ROMEO OKWARA (DEFENSE) Notre Dame was able to thrive offen- sively despite losing its starting quar- terback, running back and tight end in the season's first two games. That's in great part because the offensive line — which was led by the veteran tandem of Stanley at left tackle and fifth-year senior Nick Martin at center — drove its success. Junior right tackle Mike McGlinchey, who entered the season with one career start, had issues with consistency in the early going, but by the end of the sea- son he was arguably Notre Dame's best lineman in all phases, with his 6-8 frame and mobility effective in both the run- ning attack and pass protection. Senior defensive end Romeo Okwara entered the season with just seven tack-