Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/731427
38 OCT. 3, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED they throw the ball, averaging 9.1 yards per at- tempt and 15.4 yards per reception. Those num- bers rank the Irish defense 124th and 117th in the country, respectively. Advantage: Syracuse NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. SYRACUSE RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame's defense will not be the worst unit on the field when the Irish and Orange square off. Syracuse has allowed 231.0 rushing yards per game and an astounding 6.4 yards per carry, which respectively rank the Orange defense 109th and 127th in the country. Louisville went for 414 rushing yards against Syracuse while putting up 62 points, while South Florida gashed the Orange defense to the tune of 234 yards on the ground en route to 45 points. Syracuse has not been able to generate much disruption with its front seven, totaling just 11 tackles for loss in its first three games, which ranks 117th nationally. Six of those tackles for loss came in the opener against Football Championship Sub- division opponent Colgate. Notre Dame's ground attack stalled in its 36-28 loss to Michigan State, rushing for just 57 yards on 25 carries. Part of the issue was the fact Notre Dame fell behind 36-7 in the third quarter against the Spartans, forcing it to become heavily reliant on the pass game. In their season-opening loss to Texas, the Irish went for 206 yards on the ground. Notre Dame rushed for 239 yards and three touchdowns in its 39-10 victory over Nevada. That strong start has the Irish at 167.3 yards per game despite its poor performance against Michigan State. Sophomore running back Josh Adams leads the Irish with 178 yards (5.4 per rush) through three games. Against Michigan State, Adams surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for his career in 16 games, becom- ing the second-fastest back in Notre Dame history to achieve that mark, trailing only Darius Walker, who reached the 1,000-yard plateau in just 14 games. Senior running back Tarean Folston has chipped in 129 yards. Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer has added 126 yards through three games, and he led the team with four rushing touchdowns. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. SYRACUSE PASS DEFENSE Despite the loss of first-round draft pick Will Fuller — who had back-to-back 100-yard receiving games in his first two regular-season contests with the Houston Texans — the Irish pass game has continued to flourish. Notre Dame is averaging 262.3 yards per game through the air, and is averaging an impressive 8.4 yards per attempt and 14.1 yards per completion. In the loss to Michigan State, Kizer set a career high with 344 passing yards. Kizer has been efficient in his second season as a starter, completing 63.3-percent of his passes and putting up a 171.8 passer efficiency rating, which ranks him 13th in the country. Not having Fuller has caused Kizer to be more willing to spread the ball around. Ten Notre Dame players have hauled in at least one pass, and five players have at least five receptions through the first three games. Kizer 's favorite target thus far has been 6-5 sophomore wideout Equanimeous St. Brown, who leads the Irish with 15 receptions, 243 receiving yards and three touchdown grabs. St. Brown has had at least 75 receiving yards in each of his first three games. Fellow sophomore C.J. Sanders ranks second on the team with 10 receptions, 154 yards and a pair of scores. Senior captain Torii Hunter Jr. missed Notre Dame's win over Nevada, but he re- turned against the Spartans and set a career high with 95 receiving yards. Syracuse has had a hard time defending the pass the past two seasons, ranking 100th in 2015 and 92nd through three games this season. The Orange have allowed 249.7 yards per game after the first three outings, with a high of 431 yards against Louisville. Opponents have been able to gash the Orange through the air. Syracuse is giving up 8.1 yards per pass attempt — which ranks 101st in the country — and 16.3 yards per completion, the 126th worst mark in the nation. Opposing quarterbacks have posted a 125.61 passer efficiency rating against Syracuse, which ranks 103rd. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Redshirt freshman punter Sterling Hofrichter ranks 25th nationally in net punting with a 43.9-yard average. He has matched Notre Dame junior punter Tyler Newsome with six punts of at least 50 yards. Senior return man Brisly Estime ranked second nationally a season ago with an 18.1-yard average, with two of his returns going for scores. Opponents had limited him to just 6.3 yards per return on four attempts through Syracuse's first three games. Syracuse ranked 115th in punt return defense and 62nd in kick return defense through three weeks. It gave up an 83-yard punt return for a touchdown to South Florida returner D'Erne Johnson. That does not bode well for Syracuse in this matchup, as the Orange will have to contend with Notre Dame re- turn man Sanders, who ranks 10th nationally with a 16.8-yard average on punt returns. Advantage: Notre Dame GAME PREVIEW: SYRACUSE Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 205 So. 81 Miles Boykin 6-3½ 222 So. WR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 15 Corey Holmes 6-0½ 190 Jr. LT 68 Mike McGlinchey 6-7½ 310 Sr. 70 Hunter Bivin 6-5½ 308 Sr. LG 56 Quenton Nelson 6-5 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3¼ 300 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 310 Jr. 75 Mark Harrell 6-4 306 5th-Sr. RG 62 Colin McGovern 6-4½ 310 Sr. 66 Tristen Hoge 6-4¼ 310 So. RT 71 Alex Bars 6-6 320 Jr. 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-4½ 315 Fr. TE 80 Durham Smythe 6-4½ 245 Sr. 82 Nic Weishar 6-4 240 Jr. WR 16 Torii Hunter Jr. 6-0 195 Sr. 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 181 Fr. QB 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. 9 Malik Zaire 6-0 222 Sr. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-1½ 220 So. or 25 Tarean Folston 5-9½ 214 Sr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DL 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-3½ 255 Jr. 9 Daelin Hayes 6-3½ 250 Fr. or 93 Jay Hayes 6-3 285 Jr. DL 75 Daniel Cage 6-1 315 Jr. or 94 Jarron Jones 6-5½ 315 5th-Sr. DL 99 Jerry Tillery 6-6½ 310 So. 58 Elijah Taylor 6-3 285 So. DL 90 Isaac Rochell 6-3½ 290 Sr. 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-3 286 Jr. LB 5 Nyles Morgan 6-1 245 Jr. 48 Greer Martini 6-2½ 240 Jr. LB 17 James Onwualu 6-1 232 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-2½ 225 Fr. LB 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 235 So. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 230 So. CB 24 Nick Coleman 5-11½ 195 So. 35 Donte Vaughn 6-2 200 Fr. S 23 Drue Tranquill 6-1½ 225 Jr. 8 Avery Sebastian 5-10 200 6th.-Sr. S 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 198 Fr. 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0 195 Fr. CB 36 Cole Luke 5-11 195 Sr. 27 Julian Love 5-10½ 190 Fr. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-9½ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-10 165 So. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-4½ 230 Jr. 14 DeShone Kizer 6-4¼ 230 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 61 Scott Daly 6-1½ 250 5th-Sr. 54 John Shannon 6-2 220 Fr. PR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 180 So. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. or 2 Dexter Williams 6-0 210 So. Special Teams