Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/739116
38 OCT. 31, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Miami's top pass-catching target has been senior wide receiver Stacy Coley, who had a team-best 22 receptions and six receiving scores in the first five games. Freshman wideout Ahmmon Richards has been Miami's big-play threat, hauling in 15 passes for a team-high 304 yards. Miami's tight ends have thrived this season. Juniors David Njoku and Chris- topher Herndon have combined for 18 catches, 289 receiving yards and a pair of scores. It is hard to know how much Notre Dame's pass defense has improved under Hudson. Notre Dame gave up 363 yards to Syracuse, but the Irish played well in the final three quarters of that 50-33 win. Its 41-yard performance against North Carolina State came with major help from Hurricane Matthew. A key for Notre Dame will be finding a way to get after Kaaya with its pass rush. Notre Dame had just three sacks through the first six games, while Miami's line gave up just five sacks in its first five games. The Irish secondary is athletic, but incred- ibly young. It starts a pair of true freshmen in left cornerback Julian Love and free safety Devin Stud- still. Freshman cornerback Donte Vaughn will also play a lot of snaps for the Irish. Advantage: Miami NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MIAMI RUN DEFENSE On the surface, Miami's rushing defense has been very good during the first five games of the year, limiting opponents to just 125.8 yards per game (27th nationally) and an impressive 2.8 yards per carry (eighth in the country). Miami held Football Championship Subdivision opponent Florida A&M to just 22 yards and Florida Atlantic to 47 yards. Its next three opponents aver- aged 186.0 yards per game, including 267 yards to option opponent Georgia Tech. A trio of sophomore defensive tackles has fueled the Hurricane rushing defense. Kendrick Norton, R.J. McIntosh and Gerald Willis combined for 14.5 tackles for loss through five games. Miami's top two front seven tacklers are true freshman linebackers Michael Pinckney and Sha- quille Quarterman. Notre Dame's rushing offense has greatly under- achieved through its first six games, averaging just 149.5 yards per game and 3.9 yards per rush. The Irish were 92nd in the country for rushing offense through six weeks, a far cry from its No. 28 national ranking during the 2015 season. Sophomore running back Josh Adams paced the Notre Dame run game with 391 yards through the first six contests. Advantage: Miami NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MIAMI PASS DEFENSE The Hurricanes ranked 11th nationally with 158.2 passing yards allowed per game after the first six weeks of the season. They were 12th in the land at just 5.7 yards allowed per attempt and 14th with only 10.5 yards allowed per reception. Miami held its first five opponents to a 103.4 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI 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 6-4¾ 325 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3¼ 300 So. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2¼ 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 6-4¾ 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 6-0 225 Sr. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-1½ 220 So. 25 Tarean Folston 5-9½ 214 Sr. or 2 Dexter Williams 5-10¾ 210 So. 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 6-2¾ 285 So. DL 90 Isaac Rochell 6-3½ 290 Sr. 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-3 286 Jr. LB 5 Nyles Morgan 6-0¾ 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 27 Julian Love 5-10½ 190 Fr. 35 Donte Vaughn 6-2 200 Fr. S 23 Drue Tranquill 6-1½ 225 Jr. 21 Jalen Elliott 5-11¾ 195 Fr. S 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 198 Fr. 28 Nicco Fertitta 5-8¼ 185 So. CB 36 Cole Luke 5-11 195 Sr. 24 Nick Coleman 5-11½ 195 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-9¾ 190 So. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Jr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-9¾ 165 So. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-0½ 215 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 6-1¾ 220 Fr. PR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 185 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9¼ 180 So. Special Teams Defensive end Chad Thomas, a former five-star recruit, has emerged as Miami's top pass rusher with 3.5 sacks during Miami's 4-1 start. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS