Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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26 NOV. 6, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PATIENT GROUND GAME DOMINATES … EVENTUALLY Notre Dame came into the game ranked sixth nationally in rushing offense, posting 317.9 yards per game, while NC State entered sixth in rushing defense at 91.3 yards allowed per con- test. Something had to give, and it was the Notre Dame offense that controlled this matchup. Notre Dame had 136 rush- ing yards by halftime, which marked the most yards NC State had allowed all season in a game. Junior running back Josh Adams finished the game with 202 yards despite sitting out most of the fourth quarter, and the Irish ran up 318 yards on the ground. It had been 21 games since NC State allowed an en- tire team to rush for at least 200 yards in a contest. It was a resounding statement from the Notre Dame line. "It says we work really hard in practice," senior left guard Quenton Nelson said. "We prepared for battle in practice and really bring it every day. "Pads on their pads, accelerating on contact, just getting leverage, moving these guys off the ball, and it translated to the game." Notre Dame ripped off a 21-yard run on its first offensive play of the day, but following that run it seemed NC State found a way to attack the Irish line. Adams had just three yards on his next carry, and NC State sacked junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush on back-to-back plays. NC State tackled Adams for a seven-yard loss on the first play of Notre Dame's second possession, effectively ending that drive. Notre Dame regrouped and kicked off the third series with a 35-yard run by Adams, which is when the Irish line began to take over. "It was more settling down," Nelson said of the first two series. "You've got the jitters on the first couple drives, but then we settled down and were like, 'We can block these guys.'" In the second quarter, Notre Dame put together back-to-back touch- down drives that took a combined 22 plays and covered 132 yards; 15 of those snaps were runs. "I think that goes to our tempo and our physicality, just getting after them and wearing them down each snap," Nelson explained. "It pays off and it shows in the second half when we're ripping off those big runs." Nelson was referring to the 77-yard touchdown run by Adams in the third quarter, the longest play any team had against NC State's defense this season. Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said the willingness to keep run- ning the ball at NC State despite the lack of early success was im- portant. "Philosophically, we're stick- ing with it," Kelly said of the ground game. "… We're physi- cal up front, and we're going to break some through. It's just having the patience and keeping the chains moving and giving us that opportunity." The versatile ground attack is what allowed Notre Dame to continue pumping the run game. "They're a really good de- fense, so you have to be in the running game, striking a little bit everywhere," Kelly said of how to attack the NC State de- fense. "You saw pin-and-pull, and try to get the ball outside, which helps our zone inside- read game. We ran tackle pull, we ran guard pull, power … it's a diverse run game." BRANDON WIMBUSH CONTINUES IMPROVING The numbers won't blow anyone away, but junior Brandon Wimbush continued developing as a quarter- back in the win. Wimbush finished 10-of-19 passing for 104 yards, and had just 21 yards on the ground a week after rushing for 106 yards in Notre Dame's 49-14 win over USC. However, head coach Brian Kelly felt that Wimbush did what he needed to do to put the Irish offense in position to come out on top. "His presence out there is calm," Kelly said. "He just continues to lead our football team in a manner that makes us a very, very good football team." Wimbush only completed 10 passes, but he showed mental growth in the game. "We ran one play in particular in the fourth quarter where he came back to his fourth progression to [sophomore wide receiver Kevin] Stepherson on the curl," Kelly said, referring to 13-yard completion that converted a third-and-eight. "That's the first time he's done it this year. "I was pretty excited on the side- line. There are little things that are coming." NORTH CAROLINA STATE GAME NOTES BY BRYAN DRISKELL The Irish racked up 318 rushing yards against a Wolfpack squad that entered the contest with the nation's sixth-ranked run defense (91.3 yards allowed per contest). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • Junior running back Josh Adams rushed for at least 150 yards for the fifth time this fall, setting a Notre Dame record for a single season. • Notre Dame has won six straight games by at least 20 points for the first time since 1966, when the Irish won seven straight games by at least 20 points. • Notre Dame forced a NC State punt on the first defensive possession of the game, which meant the Irish have now forced a punt or turnover on the first possession of each game this season. • Opponents are now just 3 of 13 (a 23.1 percent conversion rate) on fourth down on the season after the Notre Dame defense stopped NC State on each of its two fourth-down attempts.