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✦ NEWS & NOTES Check, check and check. Although senior All-American line- backer Manti Te'o seldom comes out for the defense, the Irish liberally rotate the two deep. That might be part of the rea- son why it's been especially stingy in the fourth quarter, where in three games this season it has allowed only four first downs and 34.3 yards per game. Notre Dame's enhanced depth on de- fense is not just about defensive coordina- tor Bob Diaco playing people for the sake of playing them. "I will tell you this: If they don't prac- tice right, Coach Diaco is not playing them," Kelly said. "But I think as a gen- eral theme, we are much more committed to getting all those players valuable time because of the length and the depth of the schedule that we play. We know that we are going to need them at some time dur- ing the year." Michigan State's 13 possessions on of- fense averaged out to its 20-yard line — with the best at its 33. Offensively, Notre Dame improved to 7-0 under Kelly when it didn't commit a turnover. "If we can kick that way, third-down During Notre Dame's 3-0 start, senior linebacker Manti Te'o and the Irish defense have allowed only four first downs and 34.3 yards per game in the fourth quarter. last weekend at Michigan State had they been told the Irish would 1) finish 1 of 14 on third-down conversions and 2) see se- nior All-America tight end Tyler Eifert not catch a pass despite playing the whole game? However, head coach Brian Kelly high- lighted three specific areas needed on the road against a top-10 team: 1) dominant de- fense, 2) winning special teams, especially the field position battle, and 3) avoiding turnovers, or at least coming out ahead. conversions is not going to impact the football game," Kelly said. "It's the turn- overs, it's short fields, and it's the big chunk plays … the third downs will con- tinue to get better. We just need to take care of the football [only two turnovers in three games] and keep our defense on the long field." PERSONNEL NOTES Head coach Brian Kelly said the Irish received huge dividends from the return of junior Dog linebacker Danny Spond (mi- graines) and senior running back Cierre Wood (two-game suspension). Both play- ers had a thin layer of rust to shake against ✦ PAGE 13 the Spartans, but provided physical ele- ments to their positions. "The implications are more about being fresh in the fourth quarter," Kelly said of Wood, whose 10 carries netted a team- high 56 yards. "We had fresh legs. He didn't have a lot of carries leading up to the later carries that he got. He was ag- gressive, he was physical and he played like a guy that had a couple weeks off." • Fifth-year senior Jamoris Slaughter tore an Achilles tendon early in the sec- ond half of the win at Michigan State and was declared out for the season by Kelly the next day. Sophomore Matthias Far- ley steps into his spot, with senior Chris Salvi as his backup. At the other safety slot, senior Zeke Motta is backed up by freshman Nicky Baratti, with another freshman, Elijah Shumate, playing the role of the nickel back. A third freshman, C.J. Prosise, also might have an opportu- nity to crack the two-deep. Kelly expressed some doubts about whether Slaughter could petition the NCAA for a sixth year, but said he doesn't have enough information yet to comment. • Sophomore defensive end Chase Hounshell, who is listed behind classmate Stephon Tuitt, did not make the trip to East Lansing and has yet to play this sea- son. Kelly said the 6-4, 275-pound defen- sive end has been dealing with a shoul- der injury (he was sidelined all spring), but should be available to play if needed against Michigan. • Fifth-year senior Kapron Lewis-Moore will start against the Wolverines while bat- tling a calf injury that has placed him "at that line of being hurt and being injured," according to Kelly. • Sophomore wide receiver DaVaris Daniels (sprained ankle) and freshman de- fensive end Sheldon Day (bone bruise) are both "probable" to play on Saturday. ✦