Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 2, 2017 25 MICHIGAN STATE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE LJ Scott and Gerald Holmes combined for 198 yards on 35 carries (5.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns in last year's win at Notre Dame. This year, they were limited to 83 yards on 17 carries. The lone attempt between the two that produced a run of more than 10 yards was a 14-yard jaunt by Scott that resulted in a fumble and a touchback for the Irish, a game-changing moment in the contest from which the Spartans could not recover. The lone damaging run was a third-and-one "quarterback sneak" by Brian Lewerke in the first quarter when the Irish were not in the correct fit. Minus that run, Michigan State managed only 99 rushing yards against the stout defense. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame MICHIGAN STATE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE Lewerke's 340 yards via the air route was the most misleading stat of the game. He passed for 175 yards in the first three quarters — and then 165 in the fourth when the outcome had long been decided. They were "window dressing" yards against a prevent defense with the Irish already holding a four-score lead. It's akin to a baseball player hitting a two-run home run in the bottom of the ninth but with his team trailing 10-1. It looks nice in the box score, but is inconsequential. Lewerke averaged a respectable 6.7 yards per attempt, but the 59-yard inter- ception return by sophomore cornerback Julian Love to give the Irish a 14-0 lead in the first quarter set the tone. A 10-yard sack by senior rover Drue Tranquill ended another early drive, while Notre Dame built a 28-7 cushion at halftime. Most Michigan State completions were well earned because the Irish cover- age was usually tight and provided little margin of error to the Spartans. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE RUN DEFENSE Junior running back Josh Adams (nine carries for 56 yards) and junior quar- terback Brandon Wimbush (eight carries for 52 yards) had modest totals after their 200-yard explosions the week prior, but it was more of a relief that they didn't have to carry too much of the freight. They, along with junior running back Dexter Williams (eight carries for 40 yards), collectively averaged 6.0 yards per carry, with Williams' 14-yard touchdown run in the second quarter a textbook scamper behind the powerful left side. Because sophomore running back Tony Jones Jr. is recovering from an ankle injury, classmate Deon McIntosh paced the team in carries with 12 (for 35 yards), highlighted by a nine-yard touchdown run. We'll call it even only be- cause MSU held Notre Dame 148 yards under its average. ADVANTAGE: Even NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MICHIGAN STATE PASS DEFENSE The Irish opened with five straight passes, three on screens to wideouts, to loosen the MSU defense and establish early rhythm for Wimbush (14-of-20 passing for 173 yards). It was primarily a horizontal attack to ease Wimbush's development. What head coach Brian Kelly emphasized was the pass catchers needed to come up with plays — especially on the more vertical routes — to aid Wimbush, and they did with three sensational grabs by three different play- ers: junior Equanimeous St. Brown extending himself on a 40-yard post route completion to set up the first touchdown; fifth-year senior tight end Durham Smythe's diving 21-yard grab on third-and-10 to set up the 28-7 lead; and emerging sophomore Chase Claypool's (four catches for 56 yards) leaping, tightrope act along the sideline for 27 yards to help produce a third touchdown. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Other than Notre Dame's first kickoff going out of bounds, the specialists did their jobs, with junior Justin Yoon converting his lone field goal attempt (46 yards) and senior Tyler Newsome placing three of his four punts inside the Michigan State 20. Neither unit altered the game's complexion, nor did anything notable to harm or put itself into difficult spots. ADVANTAGE: Even THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS The numbers were nearly identical with Notre Dame 8 of 14 (57.1 percent) and Michigan State 11 of 19 (57.9 percent). However, the Irish conversions were more impactful with Wimbush's eight- yard scoring pass to Williams on third-and-six, Smythe's terrific 21-yard grab on third-and-10 to set up Williams' 14-yard TD run on the next series, and a 32-yard Wimbush run on third-and-seven that would result in a field goal. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS Easily the story of the game. Notre Dame had a 3-0 advantage, all in the first half, and parlayed it into 21 points — which was the difference in the 28-7 halftime lead and the eventual 20-point victory. Kelly was 19-0 his first six seasons when the Irish didn't commit a turnover, but 0-3 last year. Notre Dame is back on the winning track with the first turnover-free effort this season. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame ANALYSIS Michigan State racked up 496 yards of total offense to Notre Dame's 355, but the Spartans had three game-altering turnovers that Notre Dame capitalized upon. Michigan State also committed nine penalties for 97 yards, dropped five passes, and basically had a fourth "turnover" when it turned the ball over on downs after it was unable to produce any points from a first-and-goal at the Notre Dame 4-yard line. Conversely, the Irish had no turnovers, scored four touchdowns on all four red-zone appearances and made MSU pay dearly on all its miscues. ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI Junior linebacker Te'von Coney, who finished with seven tackles, was part of an Irish defense that kept the Michigan State running game in check for the most part, allowing only 151 rushing yards (52 on a quarterback sneak). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA