Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 28, 2016*

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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24 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED them, their play was much better. Tech came out of halftime and went 75 yards on five plays for a touch- down, sparked by a 62-yard catch- and-run by redshirt sophomore wide receiver C.J. Carroll. Evans finished the game 22-of-29 passing for 267 yards with two touch- downs and one interception. Kizer, meanwhile, was just 16-of-33 passing for 235 yards with two touchdowns. Kelly was asked after the game about Kizer's poor second-half per- formance. "We had some opportunities that we missed in terms of throws," Kelly said. "We had some catches that we didn't make. "I don't know that there is one thing. When I caution you about watching the film, there are a lot of different things. I don't think it's just one thing. "Maybe a couple protection issues. A couple routes that weren't run properly. Maybe a couple things that we could have done better in terms of play calls. A little bit of everything. I don't think there was one specific thing I can put my finger on." With 5:20 left in the third quarter, Notre Dame caught a break when an Evans pass intended for Phillips deflected off his hands and into the arms of Irish junior safety Drue Tran- quill for an interception. Four plays later, Adams broke through the line and scored a 67-yard touchdown to give the Irish a 31-21 lead. The Hokies were able to overcome the momentum swing. "That was a big play that didn't go our way … but our guys just kept bat- tling through," Fuente said. "I don't know if it's a belief in each other or it's the work that they put on, but they just kept plugging away." Tech would end the game by scor- ing the final 13 points — two Slye field goals and a seven-yard pass from Evans to redshirt junior receiver Bucky Hodges. On what would be the Hokies' game-winning drive, Evans — a ju- nior college transfer — accounted for 49 of the 51 yards. His total included a 20-yard pass to junior wide receiver Isaiah Ford early in the possession that led to Slye's game-winning field goal. Notre Dame finished with 449 yards to Virginia Tech's 419. Adams led the way on the ground, carrying 13 times for 100 yards. Kizer also ran for 69 yards. Evans was Tech's leading rusher, carrying 18 times for 67 yards. According to ESPN Stats and In- formation, Notre Dame is the first Power Five team to lose seven games by one score since NC State in 2006. "We've just got to finish," senior cor- nerback Cole Luke said. "We're only losing by less than eight points. We've just got to finish, that's all it really is. "Coach Kelly said it best in the locker room — it's a combination of things. It's not just one thing." ✦ Sophomore defensive tackle Jerry Tillery and the Irish defense held Virginia Tech in check in the first quarter with four yards of total offense, but the Hokies amassed 415 yards and 34 points over the final three quarters to rally for the win. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA VIRGINIA TECH 34, NOTRE DAME 31, Nov. 19, 2016 ✦ Attendance: 80,795 Notre Dame Stadium ✦ Notre Dame, Ind. 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Total Virginia Tech 0 14 7 13 34 Notre Dame 10 14 7 0 31 VT ND FIRST QUARTER ND Adams 1-yard run (Yoon kick) 11:51 0 7 Drive: 7 plays, 78 yards, 3:09 ND Yoon 25-yard field goal 4:26 0 10 Drive: 13 plays, 42 yards, 6:28 SECOND QUARTER ND Finke 31-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick) 14:53 0 17 Drive: 7 plays, 79 yards, 2:59 VT Evans 23-yard run (Slye kick) 11:28 7 17 Drive: 9 plays, 61 yards, 3:25 ND Boykin 18-yard pass from Kizer (Yoon kick) 6:00 7 24 Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:11 VT Phillips 16-yard pass from Evans (Slye kick) 1:18 14 24 Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 4:42 THIRD QUARTER VT Peoples 2-yard run (Slye kick) 12:39 21 24 Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 2:21 ND Adams 67-yard run (Yoon kick) 3:49 21 31 Drive: 4 plays, 78 yards, 1:24 FOURTH QUARTER VT Slye 23-yard field goal 13:35 24 31 Drive: 12 plays, 66 yards, 5:14 VT Hodges 7-yard pass from Evans (Slye kick) 9:13 31 31 Drive: 8 plays, 49 yards, 3:20 VT Slye 20-yard field goal 4:16 34 31 Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 4:14 VT ND Total First Downs 25 22 Rushing 13 12 Passing 9 10 Penalty 3 0 Rushing Attempts 47 36 Yards Gained Rushing 183 220 Yards Lost Rushing 31 20 Net Yards Rushing 152 200 Net Yards Passing 267 249 Passes Attempted 29 34 Passes Completed 22 17 Had Intercepted 1 0 Percent Completion 75.9% 50.0% Yards Per Attempt 9.2 7.3 Yards Per Completion 12.1 14.6 Total Offensive Plays 76 70 Total Net Yards 419 449 Average Gain Per Play 5.5 6.4 Fumbles: No.-Lost 4-1 1-0 Penalties: No.-Yards 5-35 10-78 Punts: No.-Yards 4-122 7-266 Average Per Punt 30.5 38.0 Average Net Punt 30.0 35.9 Punt Returns: No.-Yards 4-15 1-2 Kickoff Returns: No.-Yards 4-107 5-78 Interception Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 1-0 Fumble Returns: No.-Yards 0-0 0-0 Miscellaneous Yards 0 0 Possession Time 32:45 27:15 Third-Down Conversions 6-14 4-14 Percentage 42.9% 28.6% Fourth-Down Conversions 1-1 2-2 Percentage 100.0% 100.0% Sacks By: No.-Yards 1-2 1-12

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