Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/621849
for 149 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback J.T. Barrett chipped in 96 rushing yards and used his legs to convert four third-down opportunities and one fourth-down attempt. After struggling on the ground in its 17-14 loss to Michigan State — a game in which the Buckeyes were held to just 86 rushing yards — head coach Urban Meyer made some changes, sending co-offensive coordinator Ed Warriner up to the booth and re-em- phasizing the run game. Ohio State answered with a 369-yard ground performance in a 42-13 regular-season finale victory over Michigan before thumping the Irish. Notre Dame could not replicate Michigan State's success against the Buckeye rushing attack. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Notre Dame was held scoreless in the first quarter for the first time all season. It was only the third time this year the Irish trailed after one quarter. • The loss to Ohio State dropped the Irish to 17-18 all time in bowl games since 1925. • Will Fuller's 81-yard touchdown reception meant the Irish had at least one rushing touchdown (Josh Adams 98 yards versus Wake Forest, C.J. Prosise 91 yards versus Georgia Tech), one passing touchdown and one return touchdown (CJ Sanders 93-yard kickoff return versus Stanford) in excess of 80 yards in the same season for the first time in school history. • With sophomore Nick Watkins getting the start at cornerback, the Irish started 38 different players during the 2015 season, 20 on offense and 18 on defense. Jalen Guyton Suspended From Team; Future In Doubt On Dec. 18, Notre Dame released a statement that 6-1, 200-pound freshman wide receiver Jalen Guyton was suspended from all football-related activities "pending the resolution of a private university process." Numerous reports have indicated that Guyton is unlikely to return to Notre Dame for the second se- mester this January, and 247Sports indicated he had been released from his Fighting Irish scholarship. The Allen, Texas, native was redshirted this season after signing last February as one of four first-year wideout prospects. Two of them saw more of their action on special teams — CJ Sanders and Equanime- ous St. Brown — while a third, Miles Boykin, was often singled out by head coach Brian Kelly as one of the standouts developing with the scout team. The Notre Dame receiving corps might be in a huge transition this year with the graduation of two starters, Chris Brown and Amir Carlisle, and the possibility of All-American Will Fuller turning pro after his junior year. If Fuller doesn't return, then the top returning wideouts would be Corey Robinson, who has 65 career catches for 896 yards and seven scores after the Fiesta Bowl, and Torii Hunter Jr., who split action with Carlisle at slot receiver and had 28 catches for 363 yards and a score. Entering 2016, Notre Dame verbal commitments from two wide receivers — Abbotsford (British Co- lumbia) High standout Chase Claypool and Jacksonville (Fla.) First Coast pass catcher Kevin Stepherson. The Irish are in the hunt for several others, with Javon McKinley of Corona (Calif.) Centennial expected to announce at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl Jan. 9 in San Antonio.