Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 NOV. 28, 2016 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED FAST START, BAD FINISH Notre Dame continued its trend of starting off fast and fading down the stretch during its 34-31 Senior Day loss to Virginia Tech. The Irish jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but were outscored 34-14 during the game's final 44 minutes. During the first 16 minutes it seemed Notre Dame would control the game, outgaining the Hokies 204-4 while building its 17-0 cushion. Virginia Tech and Notre Dame then traded touchdowns, but the Irish be- gan to fade while the Hokies started to hit their stride. Issues that have plagued the Irish all season once again came to the forefront, and they simply could not make enough defensive stops, could not get its offense back into rhythm and had far too many negatives on special teams. Virginia Tech defensive coordina- tor Bud Foster made several adjust- ments during the second quarter that proved beneficial, and the Irish staff could not counter. Virginia Tech out- gained Notre Dame 415-245 after its 17-point deficit in the first 16 minutes. Starting with its first possession of the third quarter, Notre Dame had a string of six straight series of four plays or less that included four three- and-outs. The Irish scored only one touchdown in the second half, a 67- yard run from sophomore running back Josh Adams. "There were I don't know how many series in a row there where we were getting stops," Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente said after the game. "There was a point in time where it became much more difficult for them to move the ball. "I think that is a credit to Bud and our defensive staff, and knowledge of our scheme and how to manipulate it to give ourselves the best chance. It's a compliment to our players in how they settled down and began to play the way that we all believe they're capable of playing." Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly had a harder time putting his finger on what went wrong for his football team that started off so well. "I couldn't tell you until I watch the film specifically," Kelly said following the loss, which dropped Notre Dame to 4-7 on the season. "… I just don't think we executed quite as well offensively. I thought we weren't as sharp in the second half as we were in the first half." The tale was the same as it has been all season. Notre Dame started off fast, struggled in all phases during the middle of the game and then came up short late with a chance to win it. Notre Dame's wideouts had several drops, including two on the final drive that could have been big plays. The Irish were penalized 10 times, most of which were of the mental variety, in- cluding five false starts on the offense and a personal foul on sophomore de- fensive tackle Jerry Tillery for a late hit. The end result was Notre Dame blowing a fourth-quarter lead and failing to turn any of its four fourth- quarter possessions into points. "We had some opportunities we didn't convert," Kelly said. "… We had some opportunities that we missed in terms of throws. We had some catches we didn't make. I don't know that there is one thing … I think there are a lot of different things … I don't think there was one specific thing I can put my finger on." HOKIES PICK APART THE IRISH DEFENSE Notre Dame's much-maligned defense certainly started off strong, forcing a fumble on Virginia Tech's first drive and following that up with a quick three-and-out punt. The de- fense played a big role in the afore- mentioned fast start. Once Virginia Tech was able to make adjustments, it began to gash the Irish defense. The Hokies scored on their final possession of the first half, and that touchdown changed the momentum of the game. So much so that Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente was confident in his VIRGINIA TECH GAME NOTES BY BRYAN DRISKELL The Irish outgained the Hokies 204-4 yards while jumping out to a 17-0 first-half lead, which included sophomore wide receiver Chris Finke's 31-yard touchdown reception. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Senior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. (knee) did not play for the second straight game, and junior nose guard Daniel Cage (concussion) did not play for the third consecutive game. • Sophomore wide receivers Chris Finke and Miles Boykin both notched their first career touchdown receptions in the loss. • Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer's two touchdown passes give him 45 for his career, which ranks fifth all time at Notre Dame. • The two touchdown passes makes Kizer responsible for 374 points during his ca- reer, which passes quarterback Tommy Rees (2010-13) for third all time. • Kizer's 304 yards of total offense gives him 6,618 for his career, which passes former quarterback Steve Beuerlein (1983-86) for sixth all time. • Sophomore running back Josh Adams reached 100 yards for the seventh time in his career, which is tied for 10th all time with former running back Tony Fisher (1998-2001).