Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 OCT. 2, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED sacks through three games after total- ing just three sacks from the front in all 12 games of the 2016 season. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MIAMI (OHIO) RUN DEFENSE Notre Dame's ground game was feast or famine through the first three games of the season. The Irish rush- ing attack dominated Temple and Boston College, but in between Geor- gia limited it to just 55 yards. At this point it would appear that Notre Dame's struggles against Geor- gia are a bit of an anomaly. The Irish ripped Temple apart for 422 yards (9.6 per rush) and dominated Boston College to the tune of 515 yards (10.1 per rush), the program's best rushing performance in a game since 1974. Notre Dame rushed for 12 touch- downs in those two games, which is how many rushing touchdowns the Irish had the entire 2013 season. Through three games, Notre Dame was averaging 330.7 rushing yards per game, which ranked fifth nationally. Its average of 7.52 yards per carry ranked third. Junior running back Josh Adams is fifth nationally with 443 yards (147.7 per game) through three games, and junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush ranked 23rd with 314 yards. Adams and Wimbush are the only teammates to rank among the na- tion's top 25 in rushing yards. The RedHawks' run defense was good statistically in its first three games, yielding 119.3 yards per game, which ranked 38th in the country. They held Marshall to 59 yards in the season opener and limited Cincinnati to 139 yards (3.97 per rush). Although the numbers are good, Miami (Ohio) did not face a stiff test in the early going. Marshall ranked 109th in the country in rushing of- fense after three weeks, while Cincin- nati was 113th. Miami (Ohio) was disruptive in its first three games, racking up 14 tackles for loss. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MIAMI (OHIO) PASS DEFENSE The Irish have struggled to get their pass game going in the early portion of the season. Wimbush was solid in his first start, passing for 184 GAME PREVIEW: MIAMI (OHIO) Senior safety Tony Reid is a force against the run and racked up a team-leading 98 tackles last season. PHOTO COURTESY MIAMI ATHLETICS Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 203 Jr. 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 225 Jr. WR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 181 Jr. 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 228 So. LT 68 Mike McGlinchey 6-8 315 5th-Sr. 74 Liam Eichenberg 6-6 300 So. LG 56 Quenton Nelson 6-5 330 Sr. 75 Joshua Lugg 6-7 300 Fr. C 53 Sam Mustipher 6-2½ 305 Jr. 57 Trevor Ruhland 6-3½ 302 Jr. RG 71 Alex Bars 6-6 312 Sr. 70 Hunter Bivin 6-6 315 5th-Sr. RT 78 Tommy Kraemer 6-5½ 314 So. 72 Robert Hainsey 6-4½ 292 Fr. TE 80 Durham Smythe 6-5½ 257 5th-Sr. 86 Alizé Mack 6-5 251 Jr. WR 15 Cameron Smith 5-10½ 202 5th-Sr. 87 Michael Young 5-10 190 Fr. or 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 181 Jr. QB 7 Brandon Wimbush 6-2 228 Jr. 12 Ian Book 6-0 208 So. RB 33 Josh Adams 6-2 225 Jr. 2 Dexter Williams 5-11 215 Jr. or 34 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 225 So. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 93 Jay Hayes 6-3½ 290 Sr. or 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-4 263 Sr. DT 55 Jonathan Bonner 6-4 291 Sr. 95 M. Tagovailoa-Amosa 6-2½ 293 Fr. NT 99 Jerry Tillery 6-7 306 Jr. 41 Kurt Hinish 6-2 298 Fr. Drop 9 Daelin Hayes 6-4 258 So. or 98 Andrew Trumbetti 6-4 263 Sr. Mike 5 Nyles Morgan 6-1 235 Sr. 44 Jamir Jones 6-3 240 So. Buck 48 Greer Martini 6-3½ 236 Sr. or 4 Te'von Coney 6-1 240 Jr. Rover 23 Drue Tranquill 6-2 231 Sr. 22 Asmar Bilal 6-2 230 Jr. CB 27 Julian Love 5-11 193 So. 20 Shaun Crawford 5-9 176 Jr. Stud 24 Nick Coleman 6-0 192 Jr. 17 Isaiah Robertson 6-1½ 195 Fr. Whip 21 Jalen Elliott 6-0½ 205 So. or 14 Devin Studstill 6-0 195 So. CB 7 Nick Watkins 6-1 207 Sr. 8 Donte Vaughn 6-3 206 So. NOTRE DAME DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. KO 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 192 Jr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 193 Fr. PK 19 Justin Yoon 5-10 192 Jr. 39 Jonathan Doerer 6-3 193 Fr. P 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Sr. 42 Jeff Riney 5-10 180 Jr. H 4 M. VanGorder 6-1 222 Sr. 85 Tyler Newsome 6-2½ 210 Sr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Yr. LS 54 John Shannon 6-2 230 So. 82 Nic Weishar 6-5 243 Sr. PR 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 181 Jr. 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 181 Jr. KR 3 C.J. Sanders 5-8 181 Jr. 34 Tony Jones Jr. 5-11 225 So. Special Teams