Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 11, 2017 29 "We had a fixed rotation of how they were going to play early and throughout," head coach Brian Kelly explained. "We trust them. We're go- ing to stick with that. They believe in us and the system that we have put together for them, and we aren't go- ing to waver from it." The rotation proved beneficial for the Irish front seven, which held Temple to 85 rushing yards on 37 at- tempts (2.3 yards per carry). "It's huge," senior linebacker Greer Martini said. "It allows for guys that are capable of playing to come in fresh. They can go out there and ex- ecute at a high level." HIGH NUMBER OF PLAYERS GET FIRST CAREER ACTION Seventeen different players saw their first action in a Notre Dame uniform. • Graduate transfer wide receivers Cameron Smith and Freddy Canteen both suited up with the Irish for the first time, and so did freshman wide- out Michael Young. Smith caught three passes for 10 yards and had one rushing attempt for 12 yards, and Canteen hauled in a seven-yard reception. • Sophomore Tommy Kraemer and freshman Robert Hainsey saw their initial action while splitting time at right tackle, and they helped the Irish amass 422 yards on the ground. • Sophomore running back Tony Jones Jr. had his debut, scoring the first touchdown of his career and re- cording three tackles as part of Notre Dame's coverage teams. • Freshman tight end Brock Wright was used several times as a lead blocker in short-yardage and goal-line situations, while fellow rookie Cole Kmet got late snaps at tight end and was a starter on the kick return unit. • Sophomore defensive end Ad- etokunbo Ogundeji and junior nose tackle Brandon Tiassum also saw the field for the first time in their Notre Dame careers, and Tiassum regis- tered his first career tackle. • Freshman defensive tackles Kurt Hinish and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa both saw their initial game action, and each made their presence felt. Tago- vailoa-Amosa made three stops, in- cluding one behind the line of scrim- mage, and Hinish added a tackle. • Freshman safeties Jordan Gen- mark Heath and Isaiah Robertson also saw the field. Genmark Heath NOTRE DAME VS. TEMPLE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 5:39 7:09 7:34 5:49 12:48 13:23 26:11 Third-Down Conversions 1-2 2-4 2-4 1-3 3-6 3-7 6-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-2 0-0 1-2 1-2 Average Field Position ND-28 ND-17 ND-25 ND-40 ND-23 ND-33 ND-28 Temple 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 9:21 7:51 7:26 9:11 17:12 16:37 33:49 Third-Down Conversions 1-4 3-5 0-3 1-5 4-9 1-8 5-17 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-2 0-0 0-2 0-2 Average Field Position TEM-23 TEM-27 TEM-43 TEM-31 TEM-24 TEM-38 TEM-31 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND TEM (-) Yards 4 10 0-5 Yards 38 34 6-9 Yards 12 12 10-19 Yards 11 13 20-29 Yards 3 3 30-39 Yards 3 0 40-49 Yards 1 0 50 or more Yards 2 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 6 6 0 0 Temple 4 2 1 1 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 ND30 Wimbush pass complete to St. Brown for 33 yards to the TEM37 • 1-10 TEM37 Adams rush for 37 yards and a touchdown • 2-10 ND28 Adams rush for 60 yards to the TEM12 • 1-10 TEM48 Wimbush pass complete to St. Brown for 34 yards to the TEM14 • 1-10 ND48 Wimbush pass complete to Smythe for 25 yards to the TEM27 • 2-2 TEM47 Williams rush for 40 yards to the TEM7 • 1-10 ND31 Williams rush for 66 yards to the TEM3 Temple • 1-10 TEM36 Marchi pass complete to Wright for 25 yards to the ND39 • 3-11 TEM28 Marchi pass complete to Wright for 29 yards to the ND43 The Fighting Irish shut down Temple's rushing attack, limiting the Owls to 85 yards on 37 attempts (2.3 yards per carry). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA