Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/87622
GAME PREVIEW: BYU be a strong rush. Van Noy had 6.5 sacks through six games to lead a group that average 3.33 per game. Advantage: BYU SPECIAL TEAMS tant in games that feature two strong defenses. The Cougars missed four of their first eight field Field goals and field position are always impor- tent this season, but the Florida native has typi- cally picked up the pace during his college career when the weather gets cooler. Sophomore kicker Kyle Brindza is 8 of 10 since taking over the job in the second week of the season. Notre Dame's punt return game has returned to the futility it showed a season ago. Freshman Davonte' Neal has yet to really have a chance to break free. Neither has BYU's JD Falslev. Field po- sition should be an even battle in this game, but Date Sept. 1 vs. Navy* (CBS) Sept. 8 Purdue (NBC) Oct. 20 Brigham Young (NBC) Oct. 27 at Oklahoma Nov. 3 Pittsburgh (NBC) Nov. 10 at Boston College Nov. 17 Wake Forest (NBC) Nov. 24 at USC Oct. 13 Stanford (NBC) Sept. 15 at Michigan State (ABC) W, 20-3 Sept. 22 Michigan (NBC) Oct. 6 vs. Miami^ (NBC) W, 20-13 (OT) 3:30 p.m. TBD 3:30 p.m. TBD 3:30 p.m. TBD * at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland; ^ at Soldier Field in Chicago W, 13-6 W, 41-3 2012 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) W, 50-10 W, 20-17 goal attempts to start the year, and senior kicker Riley Stephenson has also missed three extra points this season. Stephenson has redeemed himself in the punting game, with 15 kicks longer than 50 yards and 14 downed inside the 20-yard line. Notre Dame punter Ben Turk has been inconsis- Stephenson's struggles with accurate kicking are a liability for the Cougars. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING has made the most out of the talent he has in Provo. Kelly, billed as an offensive technician, has also built his foundation on defense at Notre Dame. Both coaches have had to deal with shuffling Bronco Mendenhall is a defense-first coach who a veteran and a young talent at quarterback this season. Kelly has done so with much more suc- cess, keeping Golson pointed on an upward tra- jectory while using Tommy Rees to fill in the gaps. That well executed, delicate balancing act is a big reason why Notre Dame reached the top 10 this year for the first time in six seasons. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES ing the week-by-week, day-by-day mantra they have preached since August. Now, as they wander into BCS territory that hasn't been explored in South Bend for quite some time, the pressure rests squarely on their shoulders. BYU has noth- ing to lose coming on the road this week, and Notre Dame hasn't done well with those teams in recent years. from the start of the season. Wedged between Stanford and Oklahoma, BYU is a dangerous team that can match up well with Notre Dame's strengths. The Irish have done a good job so far of execut- This game had caution tape wrapped around it Advantage: BYU Lou Somogyi: Notre Dame 23, BYU 6 Jason Sapp: Notre Dame 24, BYU 9 Wes Morgan: Notre Dame 33, BYU 10 Dan Murphy: Notre Dame 27, BYU 13 PREDICTIONS