Blue and Gold Illustrated

Nov. 20, 2017

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com NOV. 20, 2017 27 throwing a third-quarter touchdown to junior tight end Alizé Mack, but that was all the offense could muster. "He's still developing as a quar- terback," Kelly said of Wimbush. "Tonight was not a night to turn the football over against a quality, qual- ity football team like Miami." Although he was benched for two series and struggled mightily against the Hurricanes, there is little doubt in the locker room about who should line up behind the center for the Irish. "I don't think anybody is worried about Brandon," fifth-year senior captain and starting left tackle Mike McGlinchey said following the loss. "I think he's going to be fine. Obvi- ously, everybody had a rough night tonight. It's growing pains. It's part of the game of football. "We've had a great season thus far, and we're not going to let one game stop us form what we're trying to accomplish." DEFENSIVE STRUGGLES CONTINUE Notre Dame's defense had shown great improvement in the team's first eight games, limiting opponents to just 16.1 points and just 349.1 yards per game. Those eight opponents av- eraged just 4.8 yards per play, and the Irish held the opposition to 116.6 yards per game on the ground. Cracks started to show during Notre Dame's 48-37 win over Wake Forest, a game in which the Irish defense gave up 37 points and 587 yards, including 239 on the ground. The struggles continued against Miami, which racked up 5.7 yards per play, rushed for 237 yards (5.6 per rush) and scored 34 points against the Irish defense. Head coach Brian Kelly, though, pointed to the offense when asked about the team's defensive woes. "We put them in a bad situation," Kelly said. "With 24 points off of turnovers, it's hard to really get an accurate picture of them, but there were some plays that weren't fit the way they have been. "We'll have to go back and study the film. I can't give you a great sense, but [defensive coordinator] Mike Elko and I were surprised at some of the fits that didn't occur that had occurred before. We've got to go back and look at some of the things that went on out there." According to captain and start- ing rover Drue Tranquill, the strug- gles against Miami had nothing to do with the team's previous woes against the Demon Deacons, at least from a schematic standpoint. The same can't be said for how the Irish defense executed. "I think they're two different sto- ries," Tranquill said. "We didn't ex- ecute well in either of the games. We have to execute better, and that's the bottom line. "We haven't played the defense we want to play the past two games." Miami sophomore running back Travis Homer was especially trouble- some for the Notre Dame defense. Homer gashed the Irish defense all game long, finishing with 146 yards on just 18 carries (8.1 per rush). "He's a great competitor with great speed and great vision," Tranquill said of the Miami running back. "He was able to make the cuts when we didn't fit right, and when we didn't execute, he made cuts and was able to make those plays and get vertical. "He's a physical runner and great competitor, I respect the way he plays the game." GROUND ATTACK FALTERS Notre Dame's ground attack was the driving force behind the team's 8-1 start, and the Irish entered its matchup against Miami ranked fifth in the land in rushing, averaging 324.8 yards per game. However, Miami completely shut down MIAMI VS. NOTRE DAME QUARTER-BY-QUARTER COMPARISON Miami 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Total Time of Possession 7:43 6:23 8:19 11:34 14:06 19:53 33:59 Third-Down Conversions 1-2 1-5 0-2 0-4 2-7 0-6 2-13 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 0-0 1-1 2-2 0-0 3-3 3-3 Average Field Position UM-41 ND-47 UM-20 ND-35 UM-46 UM-38 UM-43 Notre Dame 1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr. 1st Half 2nd Half Final Time of Possession 7:17 8:37 6:41 3:26 15:54 10:07 26:01 Third-Down Conversions 2-6 2-5 2-3 1-2 4-11 3-5 7-16 Fourth-Down Conversions 0-0 1-1 0-0 0-1 1-1 0-1 1-2 Average Field Position ND-23 ND-16 ND-22 ND-21 ND-19 ND-21 ND-20 PLAY CHART (NO. OF PLAYS) Yards UM ND (-) 9 9 0-5 35 34 6-9 9 11 10-19 8 6 20-29 3 3 30-39 1 0 40-49 1 0 50 or more 0 0 RED ZONE EFFICIENCY (INSIDE 20-YARD LINE) No Poss. TD FG Score Miami 6 4 2 0 Notre Dame 1 1 0 0 The Irish contained Miami running back Travis Homer in the first half, but the electric rookie broke free in the second half and finished with 18 carries for 146 yards (8.1 yards per attempt). PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA BIG PLAYS (25 YARDS OR MORE) Miami • 3-7 UM45 Rosier pass complete to Homer for 25 yards to the ND30 • 2-5 ND49 Dallas rush for 25 yards to the ND24 • 1-10 UM23 Homer rush for 40 yards to the ND37 • 4-9 ND36 Rosier pass complete to Cager for 28 yards to the ND8 • 1-10 UM22 Homer rush for 38 yards to the ND40

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