Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME Everett Golson may have not received the starting nod following a violation of team rules, but he pro- vided a quick spark for the offense after replacing ju- nior Tommy Rees on Notre Dame's second set of offen- sive downs. Golson completed six straight throws in the first quarter and finished 17-of- 22 passing for 186 yards, and he also accumulated 51 yards on six rushing attempts. He remained composed in the pocket and was able to display his escapability in the rare instances when the Hurri- canes applied pressure. Sophomore signal-caller EVERETT GOLSON OFFENSE: backer racked up 10 tack- les, eight of which were solo, and broke up a pass while in pass coverage. He was also in position to Te'o led his troops both by his play and the level of emotion he showed from the opening snap to the last one in the contest. The senior inside line- DEFENSE: MANTI TE'O Defensive captain Manti BY JASON SAPP THREE OBSERVATIONS TURNING POINT BY LOU SOMOGYI locker room, but lost some momentum with a missed 34-yard field goal at the end of the half. The Irish then fielded the second-half kickoff and returned it only to their 19-yard line. From there, the Irish drove 81 yards in just Notre Dame took a 13-3 lead into the halftime six plays, capped by a two-yard score by se- nior running back Cierre Wood to seize control and put Miami on its heels. After sophomore quarterback Everett Golson found classmate DaVaris Daniels down the middle for a 24-yard gain on the fourth play of that opening drive in the second half, the final 30 Notre Dame plays in the game saw only one pass — a 21-yard completion from junior quar- terback Tommy Rees to sophomore running back Cam McDaniel during the final series. After Golson's completion to Daniels, Wood followed with a patient and perfectly read 37- yard jaunt off a cutback prior to his score. That opening drive of the second half set a new tempo, seemed to demoralize Miami and established a dominance along the line of scrimmage. most it had in a game in 12 years (see "By The Numbers" on page 33) and included two different players with at least 100 yards. This allowed the Irish to control the time of posses- sion nearly two to one (39:08 to 20:52). Lost in all those gaudy numbers is sopho- Notre Dame's 376 yards rushing were the TOP STAT(S) OF THE GAME more quarterback Everett Golson's 51 yards on six attempts. For the first time this season, the zone read was utilized with Golson more to its full capacity. Once Golson broke off a 12-yard