Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/897211
24 NOV. 13, 2017 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT A 57-yard punt by Wake Forest pinned Notre Dame at its 1-yard line with 3:09 left in the first half and the Irish holding a 24-10 lead. At that point, the Demon Deacons had a chance to re- gain good field position before the half and then also receive the second-half kickoff. With about a minute left on that same series and Notre Dame facing third-and-nine at its 26, sophomore running back Deon McIntosh cut back on a sweep for a 45-yard gain, and junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush followed with a 28-yard scamper to the 1-yard line, in which he was temporarily injured. With 22 seconds left, sophomore quarterback Ian Book tossed the one-yard score to senior tight end Nic Weishar. Notre Dame extended its halftime lead to 31-10 in the closing seconds on a 99-yard drive, a mar- gin that proved to be too deep a hole to dig out from for Wake Forest. STATS OF THE GAME It's not often you see a football team compile 700 yards worth of offense in a game. Until the 710 yards produced by the Fighting Irish against Wake Forest, it occurred only one other time at Notre Dame: 720 versus Navy during a 47-0 vic- tory on Nov. 1, 1969. Perhaps just as unusual is having at least 300 rushing yards and 300 passing yards in the same game, which the Irish did with 380 rushing yards on 46 carries (8.3 yards per attempt) and 330 yards through the air on 38 pass attempts. Spearheading the charge was junior quarter- back Brandon Wimbush, who for the third time this season achieved triple digits in both passing (280) and running (110) in the same game (he also accomplished it versus Temple and USC). With 1,286 passing yards and 639 rushing yards so far this fall, he could become the first Notre Dame quarterback to eclipse 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season. SEEMS LIKE OLD TIMES Unbeaten Miami versus No. 3 Notre Dame. "The U" versus America's Team (or at least the college version). Roughly 30 years ago this was The Game in college football for several seasons, and this year the two teams enter the contest with a combined 16-1 record and with College Football Playoff hopes on the line. Miami's 8-0 start this season is practically iden- tical to the 8-0 beginning by the 2002 Fighting Irish under Tyrone Willingham. Both showed the nation in game eight that they were more than "smoke and mirrors," Notre Dame with a 34-24 win at No. 11 Florida State in 2002 and Miami with a 28-10 thumping of No. 13 Virginia Tech Nov. 4. Can Miami keep its momentum and hunger after the victory versus the Hokies, and can the Fighting Irish remain as prolific and error-free overall on offense? THREE OBSERVATIONS BY LOU SOMOGYI OFFENSE: QB BRANDON WIMBUSH After junior running back Josh Adams was knocked out late in the first quarter, the responsibility of carrying the offense was placed on the shoulders of the junior quarterback, and he responded brilliantly. Wimbush led the Irish with 110 rushing yards and two touchdowns, highlighted by a 50-yard scamper on a draw play in the second quarter. He also set a career high with 280 passing yards. If not for a number of dropped deep balls, his numbers could have been even more impressive. He finished 15-of-30 passing with one touchdown and no interceptions. DEFENSE: CB JULIAN LOVE It was a rough day for the Irish defense, but the sopho- more cornerback continued his strong season. He was second on the team with seven tackles, registered one stop behind the line and was one of the few Irish defend- ers to make an impact in the pass game. Love baited Wake Forest senior quarterback John Wolford into a quick hitch throw in the second quarter, which he stepped in front of, picked off and returned to the 5-yard line. Notre Dame scored a play later. The sophomore also had three passes broken up, rais- ing his season total to 14 — which breaks a school record that was set in 1969 by Clarence Ellis. SPECIAL TEAMS: K JONATHAN DOERER Notre Dame special teams coordinator Brian Polian has been trying to all season to have the strong-legged freshman emerge as the team's kickoff specialist, but he had failed in his first two attempts. It would appear that the third time was a charm. Doerer showed off the powerful right leg that led Po- lian to recruit him last winter. Three of his nine kickoffs went for touchbacks and three more kept Wake Forest at or inside the 25-yard line. TOP PLAYERS OF THE GAME BY BRYAN DRISKELL Sophomore cornerback Julian Love made seven tackles (one for loss), broke up three passes and notched his third interception of the season during the win over the Demon Deacons. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA