Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/739116
14 OCT. 31, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME UNDER THE DOME MOVING? Call us at 1-800-421-7751 Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom Blake Barens — Golf The senior from Villa Park, Calif., claimed medalist honors in the Fight‑ ing Irish Gridiron Golf Clas‑ sic Oct. 10‑11. He posted a school‑record 9‑under‑par score and was the only golfer out of 87 participants to fin‑ ish under par in all three rounds. Barens posted two top‑five finishes, two top‑10 finishes and four top‑25 showings dur‑ ing his junior campaign, but this marked his first‑ever individual tournament championship. Anders Bjork — Hockey The junior forward from Mequon, Wis., was named the Hockey East Association's Player of the Week Oct. 10. In Notre Dame's season‑opening 9‑2 and 4‑2 wins over Arizona State Oct. 7‑8, he contributed a team‑best seven points (four goals, also a team high, plus three assists). Last season, Bjork was named a second‑team Hockey East All‑Star. Jordan Ferreira — Golf The senior from University Place, Wash., led the way for Notre Dame at the Texas State Jim West Chal‑ lenge Oct. 9‑10 in The Wood‑ lands, Texas. She carded a pair of 1‑under‑par rounds and finished with a 1‑under 217 to tie for 26th place. In the final round, Ferreira made her surge with birdies on the third, 13th and 16th holes. The 217 was just one stroke shy of her career‑best 36‑hole total. Jemma Yeadon — Volleyball The freshman outside hitter from Mercer Island, Wash., was named the ACC Freshman of the Week Oct. 10. In straight‑set victories against Syracuse Oct. 7 and Boston College Oct. 9, she led the Irish in kills in both matches and also posted 12 kills and 10 digs at Syracuse followed by 14 kills and 11 digs versus Boston College. Through 18 matches, Yeadon led the Irish in kills (170), kills per set (3.04) and double‑ doubles (six), while also ranking fourth on the squad in aces (18). TOP OF THE CLASS ✦ GIMME FIVE The 113 yards of total offense (59 rushing and 54 passing) Notre Dame finished with in the 10‑3 loss at North Carolina State in a hurricane‑induced quagmire was easily the lowest figure in head coach Brian Kelly's seven seasons at Notre Dame, nearly half of the pre‑ vious mark. What is surprising is the next three lowest figures under Kelly still resulted in Irish victo‑ ries, thanks to exceptional defense or special teams work. The game in Raleigh also was still close, with the Wolfpack's lone touchdown coming off a blocked punt. For the record, the lowest total offense out‑ put by Notre Dame in a game was 12 yards in a 12‑3 loss at home to No. 1 Michigan State in 1965. The Irish finished No. 9 in the country that season under second‑year head coach Ara Parseghian. Here are the five lowest total yardage figures under Kelly: Team (Year) Yards Result 1. NC State (2016) 113 L, 10‑3 2. Michigan State (2013) 220 W, 17‑13 3. Michigan (2012) 239 W, 13‑6 4. Utah (2010) 256 W, 28‑3 5. USC (2011) 267 L, 31‑17 Getting To Know … SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK JOSH ADAMS Major: "Psychology." Favorite food: "Sweet po‑ tatoes." Favorite movie: "'Taken.'" Favo r i te T V s h ow : " I haven't watched a lot of TV lately, so I don't have one right now." Favorite music: "I love Meek Mill, and any‑ thing with Meek Mill in it." Best player you've faced: "The linebacking corps here. They're always a challenge, espe‑ cially last year. They had a lot of veterans back there. They really make you better and push you to bring out your full game." Favorite part about playing for Notre Dame: "I really like practice. I love being able to go out there and work on my craft and try to per‑ fect it. We take it for granted a lot of times, but I love going out there every day and thank God that I'm able to go out there and run around." CHARTING THE IRISH FIRST-DOWN OFFENSE Notre Dame finished with just 113 total yards against North Carolina State Oct. 8, and a big part of that was due to its performance on first down. Many criticized the play calling against the Wolfpack. Notre Dame ran 23 plays on first down — 11 runs and 12 passes. In total, the Irish gained just 42 yards on first down, an average of 1.8 yards per play. That led to the trouble on third down — Notre Dame was an abysmal 1 of 15 (6.7 percent) on the critical down, failing to put together a consistent drive until the fourth quarter. "Our self-scout shows that we need to be better on first down," Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said. "There is a trickle-down effect into our third-down manageability, if you will." Nevertheless, the Irish were very successful on first down in their other games during the 2-4 start. Overall, Notre Dame is averaging 6.8 yards per play on first down this season against Power Five opponents. That includes a high-water mark against Syracuse, when Notre Dame averaged 9.0 yards per play. The Irish had three negative rushes on first down against North Carolina State, and its longest went for just six yards — a carry by sophomore run- ning back Josh Adams. When Notre Dame tried to pass, junior quarterback DeShone Kizer completed just 4 of 12 passes for 33 yards. Kizer was also sacked on his last four passing attempts. "Our self-scout shows some negative plays that we've gotta get out of our offense," Kelly said. "It's really the neg- ative plays, and that's got to be cleaned up for us to have a better third-down efficiency." NOTRE DAME FIRST-DOWN OFFENSE Opponents Plays Yards Per Play Texas 34 6.9 Michigan State 29 6.1 Duke 34 8.0 Syracuse 36 9.0 NC State 23 1.8