Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 6, 2017 27 Wimbush kicked off the scoring for Notre Dame by firing a 25-yard touch- down pass to senior tight end Durham Smythe. Sticking with his read and finding his tight end was yet another example of Wimbush's maturity. "He may have taken off [running] last week or two weeks ago," Kelly noted. "There is a fine balance there. He's confident and wants to throw the football and can throw the foot- ball. … There's a lot of really good growing that's happening each and every week with Brandon." RUN DEFENSE DOMINATES The Irish gave up at least 171.2 rush- ing yards per game in each of the previ- ous three seasons, but the 2017 run de- fense has been dramatically improved under first-year defensive coordinator Mike Elko. Notre Dame surrendered just 126.1 rushing yards per contest coming into the game, and it held NC State to 50 yards on 24 attempts. "I think how you attack the run game is a mindset," senior captain Drue Tranquill said of the Irish unit. "We want to give a punishing mindset to each and every one of our opponents. That's what we want to bring. When you can do that and hold a team to 50 yards, you're going to win games in college football. "You're going to force the quarter- back to get in passing situations, and when you have guys who can rush the passer it's not good for them," Tranquill continued. "We were able to do that tonight." Head coach Brian Kelly gave much of the credit to the defensive line, which like its counterparts on the of- fensive line won its matchup against the veteran NC State offensive line. "Our defensive line is controlling the line of scrimmage," Kelly stated. "Our front seven is doing a great job. If we make you one dimensional, we can do some things in the back end to keep you off balance." Junior linebacker Te'von Coney was awarded the game ball by Kelly following the victory. Coney led the Irish defense in tackles for the second straight game, registering nine stops against the Wolfpack. Following the game Coney attributed the defense's success against the run to the team's mentality … and to the line. "Coach Kelly talks about it all the time; dominate, dominate, domi- nate," Coney said emphatically. "I think once we do that, no one can stop us. "The defensive line did a great job solidifying the front, moving and making a new line of scrimmage. When they do that, it makes it easier for the linebackers, and makes it eas- ier for everyone to go out there and make plays and stop the run." NOTRE DAME VS. NC STATE QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 6:54 9:44 4:50 12:49 16:38 17:39 34:17 Third-Down Conversions 0-3 5-6 0-1 4-6 5-9 4-7 9-16 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Average Field Position ND-22 ND-26 ND-13 ND-35 ND-24 ND-22 ND-23 NC State 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 8:06 5:16 10:10 2:11 13:22 12:21 25:43 Third-Down Conversions 2-4 1-4 2-6 0-2 3-8 3-8 6-16 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-2 Average Field Position NCST-25 NCST-20 NCST-38 NCST-14 NCST-22 NCST-30 NCST-26 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards ND NCST (-) 10 5 0-5 38 39 6-9 12 6 10-19 8 8 20-29 3 2 30-39 1 0 40-49 0 1 50 or more 1 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Notre Dame 3 2 0 1 NC State 2 1 0 1 BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Notre Dame • 1-10 ND40 Adams rush for 35 yards to the NCST25 • 1-10 NCST25 Wimbush pass complete to Smythe for 25 yards and a touchdown • 2-10 ND23 Adams rush for 77 yards and a touchdown NC State • 1-10 NCST43 Finley pass complete to Louis for 42 yards to the ND15 PARTICIPATION CHART OFFENSE QB: BRANDON WIMBUSH RB: JOSH ADAMS, Tony Jones Jr., Dexter Wil- liams, Deon McIntosh WR: EQUANIMEOUS ST. BROWN, Miles Boykin WR: KEVIN STEPHERSON, Chase Claypool, Chris Finke TE: ALIZÉ MACK, Nic Weishar TE: DURHAM SMYTHE, Brock Wright, Cole Kmet LT: MIKE MCGLINCHEY LG: QUENTON NELSON C: SAM MUSTIPHER RG: ALEX BARS RT: TOMMY KRAEMER, Robert Hainsey DEFENSE SDE: JAY HAYES, Andrew Trumbetti, Khalid Kareem DT: JONATHAN BONNER, Myron Tagovailoa- Amosa NT: JERRY TILLERY Drop: DAELIN HAYES, Julian Okwara Mike: NYLES MORGAN Buck: TE'VON CONEY, Greer Martini Rover: DRUE TRANQUILL, Asmar Bilal Stud: NICK COLEMAN Whip: JALEN ELLIOTT, Devin Studstill Field CB: NICK WATKINS, Troy Pride Jr. Boundary CB: JULIAN LOVE, Shaun Crawford SPECIAL TEAMS Kickoff Coverage: Julian Love, Jordan Genmark Heath, Austin Webster, Tony Jones Jr., Nicco Fertitta, Greer Martini, Te'von Coney, Jonathan Jones, C.J. Holmes, Robert Regan Kick Return: Greer Martini, Austin Webster, Jordan Genmark Heath, C.J. Holmes, Asmar Bilal, Alizé Mack, Cole Kmet, Nic Weishar, Dur- ham Smythe, Tony Jones Jr. Punt Coverage: Dexter Williams, Asmar Bilal, Drue Tranquill, Alizé Mack, Daelin Hayes, Jor- dan Genmark Heath, Shaun Crawford, Greer Martini, Durham Smythe, Julian Okwara, Jamir Jones Punt Return: Shaun Crawford, Jonathan Jones, Jordan Genmark Heath, Michael Young, C.J. Holmes, Isaiah Robertson, Robert Regan, Troy Pride Jr., Greer Martini, Austin Webster, Jamir Jones Kickoff/Placekicker: Justin Yoon Punter: Tyler Newsome Long/Short Snapper: John Shannon Holder: Montgomery VanGorder Kick Returner: C.J. Sanders Punt Returner: Chris Finke Others: Hunter Bivin