Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BY THE NUMBERS place on the all-time Irish chart. The top three are Bob Crable's 521 (1978-81), Bob Golic's 479 (1975- 78) and Steve Heimkreiter's 398 (1975-78). 376 Nov. 11, 2000 during a 28-16 victory versus Boston College. a bit of a jumpstart after coming out cold with junior quarterback Tommy Rees at the helm, and sophomore Everett Golson was able to provide just that after entering the contest on the next set of downs. In addition to his involvement in the running game, which put pressure on the Hurricanes' defense, he was able to keep drives alive by hitting his receivers on short passes while directing four of Notre Dame's five scoring drives that eclipsed double digits in plays. For the game, the Irish held possession for a season- high 39:08. • Limiting running lanes. The Irish front seven What Worked • Maintaining possession. Notre Dame needed Yards rushing by Notre Dame, its highest total in a game since romping for 380 on season. Incredibly, the 1946-47 Fighting Irish na- tional champs under head coach Frank Leahy never trailed in either year. It took 65 seasons just to match that feat in the first five contests. 1947 TAKING A CLOSER LOOK with Golson's elusiveness, and allowed only one quarterback hurry and no sacks. quarterback Stephen Morris to make many dif- ficult decisions in the first half, the Irish defense did eventually kick up the pass rush a notch by incorporating more of a blitz package. Despite notching five quarterback hurries and a trio of passes broken up, though, it was the first game of the season Notre Dame didn't record a sack. • Capitalizing on every opportunity. Notre What Didn't Work • Causing pressure. After not forcing Miami has performed well throughout the season with a strong pass rush to help aid an inexperienced secondary, but it has also been able to shut down touted opposing running backs with the most re- cent victims being Miami's Mike James and Duke Johnson. The defensive line and linebackers read their keys well to hold the Hurricanes to 84 yards rushing, with the third level of the defense filling the gaps and securing the tackle. • Line protection. It was evident that Notre Dame's offensive line was able to dominate Mi- ami's defense after blocking for two 100-yard rushers — sophomore George Atkinson III (123) and senior Cierre Wood (118) — and totaling 376 yards on the ground as a unit. But the group also kept a fast defense out of the pocket, coupled Dame was hitting on all cylinders by the second half, but it failed to convert on its final scoring chance in the first half. While the Irish did finish by scoring six of the seven times they entered the red zone and converted 45.5 percent of their third-down tries, a six-play, 53-yard drive that started with just more than a minute left in the first half ended with a missed 34-yard field goal. • Consistency in special teams. The Irish spe- BY LOU SOMOGYI The last season Notre Dame never trailed in the first five games of the cial team units have improved from the past season, but the program will continue working towards a consistent, collective effort. Examples of inconsistency include sophomore kicker Kyle Brindza missing a 34-yard attempt, senior punter Ben Turk's 32-yard punt from Notre Dame's 3-yard line and Brindza coming up short on a few of his kickoffs. — Jason sapp