Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 NOV. 6, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Notre Dame limited North Car- olina State to 89 yards of total of- fense in the final 30 minutes, and the game-changing event occurred on the Wolfpack's first possession of the second half. With Notre Dame leading 21-14 and NC State facing third-and-10 at the Irish 42-yard line, Wolfpack quarterback Ryan Finley and his of- fensive linemen assumed they had a "free play" when they thought the Irish had jumped offside. It was not called, and under heavy duress, Finley threw off balance toward the sideline, resulting in an interception by sophomore cornerback by Julian Love that was returned for a 69-yard touchdown and a two-score lead. Honorable mention to the next series when the Irish defense stuffed the Wolfpack for a one-yard loss on fourth-and-one at the Irish 6-yard line. STAT OF THE GAME There are so many that can be used: Snapping Wolfpack quarter- back Ryan Finley's streak of 339 passes without an interception, lim- iting him to a 45.9-percent comple- tion rate (17 of 37) after entering at 69.4 percent, the second straight Irish game without a turnover (and fourth in the last five), the over- whelming advantage in rushing yardage at 318-50 … However, we are looking at cu- mulative effect throughout the year. After falling behind 7-0, Notre Dame tied the game 29 seconds later and then answered with another TD quickly after trailing 14-7. In 480 minutes of football action this year, Notre Dame has trailed only 29:53 — 12:47 versus Georgia, 11:26 at Boston College and 5:40 versus NC State. That means Notre Dame has not trailed in 94 percent of game action this season. AN NCAA FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT College football's version of "March Madness" has truly begun for Notre Dame. The consecutive victories against USC and North Carolina State now means the highly seeded Fighting Irish have to win six straight games — just like in the NCAA Tournament for bas- ketball — to win the national title. Think of it this way: winning the final four regular season games, in which Notre Dame should be fa- vored, should advance the Irish into the "Final Four," which is defined as the four-team College Football Play- off. Once you're in the Final Four, two more victories finish the deal. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the week of the NC State game that every game has been a playoff for the Irish. It truly is now, entering November. Win and you ad- vance; lose and you are eliminated. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI OFFENSE: RB JOSH ADAMS The junior running back continued his brilliant season, ripping off 202 rushing yards on a career-high 27 carries against a North Carolina State defense that came into the game giving up just 91.3 yards per game on the ground. The Wolfpack had not allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, but Adams gashed the defense early and rushed for 102 yards in the first half. He broke the game open in the second half, notching a 77-yard touchdown run to make it a 35-14 game. Adams carried the ball only four times in the fourth quarter with the Irish holding a huge lead. He now has 1,169 yards and nine touchdowns through Notre Dame's first eight games. DEFENSE: CB JULIAN LOVE Notre Dame's defense was excellent, holding the explosive Wolf- pack offense to just seven points, 14 first downs and 263 total yards. NC State came into the game averaging 35.4 points, 24 first downs and 467.4 yards per game. A big part of the success was the play of the sophomore corner- back, who broke up three passes and intercepted NC State quarter- back Ryan Finley, who hadn't thrown a pick yet this season. Love returned that interception 69 yards for a touchdown, making it a 28-14 game in the third quarter. It was his second interception return for a score this fall. SPECIAL TEAMS: S NICCO FERTITTA Junior placekicker Justin Yoon did a good job pinning NC State deep early in the game, but it was the junior safety who made two of the bigger stops of the game on Yoon's kicks. Fertitta made back-to-back coverage tackles, but his stop of Wolf- pack returner Jaylen Samuels after a 58-yard return kept him from scoring after the Irish jumped ahead 28-14 in the third quarter. TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY BRYAN DRISKELL Sophomore cornerback Julian Love's 69-yard interception return for a touchdown was a pivotal play in the game. PHOTO BY ANGELA DRISKELL