Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83107
Top Players Of The Game By Jason Sapp Offense: Everett Golson If there were any questions on the level of physical ability and arm strength that Everett Golson brings to the table, they were quickly answered based upon his performance against a top-10 opponent in Michigan State. The sophomore signal-caller showed he can roll out in either direction comfortably and throw a dart while on the run, and that a vertical threat remains in the passing game by throwing a 36-yard strike to fifth-year senior wide receiver John Goodman to put the Irish on the board first. His final numbers were modest (14-of-32 passing for 178 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions, and seven rushing yards on three carries), but his talent and poise were on full display against a tough Spartans defense. Defense: Prince Shembo and Manti Te’o Notre Dame’s defensive front seven controlled the line of scrimmage throughout the contest, and two players, in particular, shined: senior inside linebacker Manti Te’o and junior outside linebacker Prince Shembo. Te’o, who traveled with his team despite dealing with the tragedy of losing his maternal grandmother and girlfriend to death in the same week as the game, was the central figure in the Irish defense. He notched a team-high 12 tackles (one for loss), broke up two passes and recovered a fumble. Shembo’s pass rush ability shined, giving Michigan State’s offensive tackles something to worry about with his quick step off of the line. The versatile defender had a career game with nine tackles (eight in the first half), two stops for loss, one sack and two quarterback hurries. Special Teams: Ben Turk Senior punter Ben Turk turned out to be an important element in Notre Dame’s success against Michigan State, pinning the Spartans inside of their own 20-yard line on four occasions — including a spectacular punt that bounced inside the 5-yard line and had just the right amount of backspin to die at the four. Out of his eight punts in the game, two of them traveled over 50 yards, and he finished with an average of 42.4 yards per kick. Three Observations By Lou Somogyi Turning Point Notre Dame drew first blood with a 36-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Everett Golson to fifth-year senior wideout John Goodman in the game’s opening five minutes. But the game took its most significant turn in the opening seconds of the second quarter when MSU running back Le’Veon Bell was thrown for a three-yard loss, junior Cat linebacker Prince Shembo recorded a sack, and freshman Davonte’ Neal’s 12-yard punt return set up the Irish at midfield. On the first play from there, sophomore running back George Atkinson III took a sprint misdirection for 32 yards. That set up Golson’s seven-yard scoring run and a 14-0 cushion. With the way Notre Dame’s defense was dominating the line of scrimmage and pressuring quarterback Andrew Maxwell, the two-score advantage pretty much looked insurmountable, especially with the poor field position the Spartans had all game. Top Stat(s) Of The Game There are several stats that are notable, including Notre Dame’s stout defense limiting Spartans senior running back Le’Veon Bell to 77 yards rushing on 19 carries, and Michigan State finishing with a paltry 50 yards on the ground overall (it had 29 yards rushing at Notre Dame last year). However, the most notable stat was Michigan State never had good field position. In the first half, Michigan State’s six possessions began from its 11, 25, 27, 23 25 and 6 — or its own 19-yard line on average. In the second half, the Spartans’ seven series started from their 25, 12, 21, 4, 33, 25 and 29 — or their 21-yard line on average. When you combine Notre Dame’s dominant defense with the fact that Michigan State and its inexperienced quarterback and receiving corps never had a short field to work with, it added up to the Irish having full and consistent control throughout the contest. Just Like Old Times This was a vintage Notre Dame-Michigan State battle — a physical, low-scoring slugfest. Just look at the scores in this series the last four times the Irish won the national title: 10-10 (1966), 14-10 (1973), 1977 (16-6) and 1988 (20-3, the same as this year). In recent years, this game featured numerous shootouts, with Notre Dame winning 40-37 (2006) and 33-30 (2009), and Michigan State in 2005 (44-41 in overtime) and 2010 (34-31, also in overtime). One of the main signals of whether Notre Dame was returning to Bowl Championship Series postseason level was when it would once again be able to lean on its defense, especially on the road, to carry the day. The performance against Michigan State demonstrated such capability. Above all, the unit is showing an aptitude to finish strong, which was lacking last year in fourth quarter meltdowns against Michigan and Florida State.