Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/83107
Michigan State Game Notes By Dan Murphy and Wes Morgan Help From Above Early in the second half, Manti Te’o shot through a gap in the Michigan State offensive line and ran through Spartans running back Le’Veon Bell one-yard behind the line of scrimmage. He kept running into the clear and pointed skyward in a poignant moment for the senior linebacker. “That was for them,” Te’o said, referring to his girlfriend and maternal grandmother, both of whom passed away in a 24-hour stretch in the week prior to the game. “That was for my girl and for my grandma, and for all my loved ones who passed on. I know they’re all watching, and it was a happy moment.” Early in the week, Te’o was in the Irish locker room getting ready for afternoon practice when he received a phone call from his family in Hawai’i letting him know his grandmother was gone. Around the same time his girlfriend was losing her long battle with leukemia. Te’o hung up and cried. Then he pulled on his pads and went out to practice. “All he wanted to do was be at practice with his teammates,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “All those kids in there were pulling for Manti, and Manti raised his level too. He went and played really good football.” Notre Dame’s All-American linebacker made 12 tackles and recovered a fumble in an inspired and inspiring performance at Spartan Stadium. The soul of Notre Dame’s defense gave his teammates another reason to take their games to a higher level. As a group, they slammed the door on a powerful Michigan State running attack and kept the Spartans offense from even sniffing the red zone, never mind the goal line. At the end of the 20-3 win, even the normally hostile Michigan State fans joined in chanting Te’o’s name after one of his final run stops of the game. “It goes to show that people understand that football is just a game,” Te’o said. “It’s a game that we play and we have fun doing it, but at the end of the day what matters is the people around you and family. I appreciated all the love and the support that everybody has given my family and my girlfriend’s family.” Te’o delivered a speech to his teammates before Wednesday’s practice telling them all that he loved them and he needed them, but he would be there for them on Saturday. Junior outside linebacker Prince Shembo said the rest of the Irish defense rallied around Te’o immediately after he got the bad news and did their best to provide support for a player who has for much of his time in South Bend been his teammates’ rock. Shembo went through a similar family crisis a year ago when his father had to be hospitalized the night before Notre Dame beat Michigan State 31-13. “I told him to stay strong,” Shembo said. “You were there with me last year. I’m there with you now. Let us strengthen you. They’re watching over you, and they’re walking with you on the field.” Te’o and Kelly both said he would be on the field next Saturday night as well when Notre Dame takes on Michigan under the lights. Te’o said his family is trying to find a way to plan around his schedule with a bye for the football team coming in two weeks. Te’o said he wanted to be with his teammates and play football. “It’s a great escape,” Te’o said. “Throughout the game you still think about it, but football allows me to be in a little realm, be in a little world where I know that I can just honor them by the way that I play.” Home Run Hitters Posting 20 points against Michigan State in Spartan Stadium is no small feat. Coming in to Saturday night’s game the Spartans defense had yet to surrender a touchdown in the 2012 season. Three yards and a cloud of dust wasn’t going to get the job done. Brian Kelly said during the week of preparation that Notre Dame’s young, explosive offense would need to create big plays if they were going to get on the scoreboard against Michigan State. The play-calling head coach wasted no time in swinging for the fences Saturday night. On just the third play from scrimmage, sophomore quarterback Everett Golson threw his first deep ball of the game, to Chris Brown. The freshman wide receiver had a step on the Michigan State secondary, but the ball sailed over his head and fell harmlessly to the turf. Golson missed junior TJ Jones on a similar deep route two drives later. On each of Notre Dame’s first four drives of the game, Golson either completed or attempted to complete a pass of at least 20 yards. “We felt like if we didn’t get enough of those it was going to be a tough sledding day for us because they’re so good up front,” Kelly said. “We got a couple of one-on-ones early that we just overthrew, and then we came back to a couple that I though worked out well for us. It really was about trying to manufacture those during the game.” The Irish opened up a 14-0 lead on the strength of two plays that went for a combined 68 yards. The first was Golson’s 36-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year senior John Goodman. The sophomore had to throw 40 yards across the width of the field to get it there. Any training wheels Kelly had strapped to Golson during his first two weeks on the field were clearly shed in the name of big-play ability during the first quarter in East Lansing. The second big play was a 32-yard run by sophomore George Atkinson III. The draw play was set up by Golson and the right side of the Irish offensive line rolling out before handing to Atkinson to cut back through the left side to plenty of daylight. That set up Notre Dame’s only other touchdown of the game. “That’s what this offense is,” said senior running back Cierre Wood, who had a 26-yard run if the fourth quarter that sparked the team’s game-clinching drive. “Each play is not going to be a big play, but we’re going to keep chugging at them and chugging at them and the next play might bust it for 85 [yards].” Two-And-Out Neither Michigan State nor Notre Dame found many charms on the third try Saturday night. Third down might as well have been a punting situation for both teams, which combined to convert six of 31 attempts. The Irish finished 1 of 14, and the Spartans were not much better at 5 of 17. Notre Dame’s third down defense, which has held opponents to a 34.9 percent success rate, has been a big part of the team’s ability to keep opponents in check during the 3-0 start. A major part of that success has come by limiting its opponents on first and second down. Only four of Michigan State’s 17 third downs were within five yards of the first-down marker. “I think we made great adjustments each and every week,” head coach Brian Kelly said. “We got pressure when we needed to and got them behind the chain. We got them throwing the football. That was the key defensively.” The rest comes from a nickel package that is proving as effective in defending the ball in the air as it is in rushing the passer. For the second week in a row freshman defensive back Elijah Shumate performed well, breaking up a pair of big third-down pass attempts. On the other end, junior outside linebacker Prince Shembo led a pass rush that consistently disrupted quarterback Andrew Maxwell. “Pretty much pin the ears back and go,” Shembo said about the approach of the group of defenders that play on third down in passing situations this season. He finished the game with nine tackles, including a sack, which came on third down. Miscellaneous Notes • Notre Dame hasn’t held a top-10 opponent to so few points away from South Bend since 1966, when the Irish thumped No. 10 USC 51-0. The Irish have limited top-10 teams to three or fewer points six times in school history. • The Irish defense surrendered only 237 total yards — the fewest in a road game since ND held Washington to 124 yards in 2008. • Fifth-year senior wide receiver John Goodman waited 33 games between his first and second touchdown receptions. As a sophomore against Washington State in 2009, the former high school quarterback recorded his first catch for a score. He added his second TD grab against the Spartans, a 36-yarder from sophomore quarterback Everett Golson with 10:34 to play in the first quarter. • Michigan State, a traditionally strong rushing team, has managed just 79 yards on 48 carries against the Irish in the last two meetings. The Spartans compiled just 50 net rushing yards on 25 carries in Saturday’s meeting. • The Spartans had not allowed a sack on first-year starting quarterback Andrew Maxwell through their first two games, but Notre Dame took down the junior four times. On top of the sacks, Notre Dame registered six tackles for loss and hit the QB several more times. • Senior linebacker Manti Te’o put together his 20th career double-digit-tackles game. His game-high 12 stops moved him into sixth place all time at Notre Dame with 354. He has led the team in tackles 22 times in his career. • Along with Goodman’s 36-yard TD catch in the first quarter, junior receiver TJ Jones had a 21-yard reception in the first stanza. They became the seventh and eighth players to pull in a pass of at least 20 yards for the Irish this season. • Junior outside linebacker Danny Spond, who missed the first two contests due to migraines for which he was hospitalized during fall camp, made his 2012 debut. Freshman defensive end Sheldon Day registered his first career sack and pass broken up on back-to-back plays to force the Spartans to settle for a 50-yard field goal with 3:43 remaining in the first half. Sophomore nose guard Tony Springmann earned his first career sack in the second quarter. • Michigan State hasn’t been held to three points at home since 1991. • Golson is the first Irish quarterback with a rushing touchdown in back-to-back games since Dayne Crist, who had three consecutive games with a rushing score in 2010. Golson’s first three career touchdown passes went to three different receivers. Participation Chart OFFENSE QB: EVERETT GOLSON, Tommy Rees RB: GEORGE ATKINSON III, Cierre Wood WR: DANIEL SMITH, Chris Brown WR: THEO RIDDICK, Robby Toma, Davonte’ Neal WR: TJ JONES, John Goodman, DaVaris Daniels TE: TROY NIKLAS, Tyler Eifert, Ben Koyack LT: ZACK MARTIN LG: CHRIS WATT C: BRAXSTON CAVE RG: MIKE GOLIC, JR. RT: CHRISTIAN LOMBARD DEFENSE DE: KAPRON LEWIS-MOORE, Sheldon Day NG: KONA SCHWENKE, Louis Nix III DE: STEPHON TUITT, Tony Springmann LB: PRINCE SHEMBO, Ishaq Williams ILB: DAN FOX, Carlo Calabrese ILB: MANTI TE’O LB: DANNY SPOND, Ben Councell CB: BENNETT JACKSON, Josh Atkinson, Elijah Shumate S: ZEKE MOTTA, Dan McCarthy S: JAMORIS SLAUGHTER, Matthias Farley CB: KEIVARAE RUSSELL, Jalen Brown Special Teams Kick Returns: George Atkinson III, Cam McDaniel, Justin Utupo, Daniel Smith, Elijah Shumate, Chris Salvi, Nicky Baratti, Chris Brown, Romeo Okwara, Jarrett Grace, Ben Koyack Kickoff Coverage: Kyle Brindza, Nicky Baratti, Tyler Plantz, Matthias Farley, Carlo Calabrese, Josh Atkinson, Jarrett Grace, Elijah Shumate, Kendall Moore, Romeo Okwara, Cam McDaniel, Chris Salvi Punt Returner: Davonte’ Neal Punter: Ben Turk Placekicker: Kyle Brindza Hold: Ben Turk Long Snapper: Jordan Cowart Short Snapper: Jordan Cowart Gunners: Matthias Farley, Chris Salvi Others: Nick Martin, Matt Hegarty, Jarrett Grace, Justin Ferguson