Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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42 NOV. 6, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED and second in rushing touchdowns (28) through seven games. Wake Forest ranked 87th in the country in its first seven games, al- lowing 4.1 yards per rush. Its overall numbers were a bit skewed by its per- formance against Georgia Tech's tri- ple-option offense, when the Deacons surrendered 427 yards on the ground. Take that game away and Wake Forest allowed just 142.0 yards per game and 3.5 yards per rush in its other six contests. Even with the more applicable numbers in view, this is still a matchup that heavily favors Notre Dame. The Irish offense was extremely productive in the first seven games, rushing for at least 333 yards in five of those tilts. Junior running back Josh Adams is in the midst of a dominant season, running for 967 yards through the first seven games, which ranked seventh in the country. Adams also ranked second in yards per carry (9.2) and 23rd in rushing touchdowns. Junior quarterback Brandon Wim- bush struggled to throw the ball in his first six starts, but he thrived in the run game. He rushed for 508 yards in those starts, and it took him just six games to tie former quarter- back DeShone Kizer's school record for rushing touchdowns in a season by a quarterback (10). Wake Forest's run defense is led by senior linebacker Grant Dawson, who led the front seven with 47 tack- les through seven games, and red- shirt junior defensive tackles Zeek Rodney and Willie Yarbary, who racked up 11.5 tackles for loss. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. WAKE FOREST PASS DEFENSE One area where Wake Forest could find success against Notre Dame is with its pass defense. The Demon Deacons ranked 18th nationally in pass defense, giving up just 179.0 yards per outing in their first seven contests. Opponents averaged just 5.9 yards per attempt, which put Wake Forest 14th in the country. Wake Forest held opponents to just seven passing touchdowns, which ranked 20th in the land. Limiting touchdowns and yards is why the unit checked in at 12th in passing ef- ficiency on the season. GAME PREVIEW: WAKE FOREST Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 6 E. St. Brown 6-5 203 Jr. 81 Miles Boykin 6-4 225 Jr. WR 83 Chase Claypool 6-4½ 228 So. 10 Chris Finke 5-9½ 181 Jr. 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. 29 Kevin Stepherson 6-0 185 So. or 87 Michael Young 5-10 190 Fr. 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. 42 Julian Okwara 6-4½ 240 So. 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. 87 Michael Young 5-10 190 Fr. Special Teams Senior linebacker Grant Dawson was second on the team with 47 tackles through the Demon Deacons' first seven games. PHOTO BY JOE VOGAN