Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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FIGHTING WORDS WES MORGAN said of the chance to fight his way through adversity instead of taking notes on the sideline the rest of the game. "This definitely helped the unity of the offense. I think it was es- sential for me." His performance down the stretch, despite an admittedly inaccurate throw off a poor read that resulted in an interception in the end zone with 3:59 to play in regulation, essentially kept title hopes alive for the Fighting Irish. receiver TJ Jones for an 11-yard touch- down early in the fourth quarter to get within 20-12. On the drive fol- lowing his pick, he hooked up with sophomore DaVaris Daniels on a gutsy 45-yard throw to push the Irish deep into the red zone. He finished with a five-yard touchdown strike to se- nior running back Theo Riddick and added the two-point conversion to tie the game with 2:11 remaining. His one-yard touchdown run in the third overtime finished off the Panthers for good, and he emerged from the mad- ness with 227 passing yards, 74 net rushing yards, three total touchdowns and the game ball. What was beginning to look like Golson connected with junior wide questionable quarterback manage- ment by Kelly might turn out to be a defining moment years from now when we look back at Golson's career. "He's not perfect, but the boy com- petes," Kelly said. Was it enough to avoid a QB jug- gling act moving forward? "I don't know how to answer the question definitively," Kelly said. "I get a sense of feel on the sideline as to where to move with that. I went up to him when I thought we needed him back in the game because of the way the game was going — our quarter- back needed to be out there mobile, make some plays outside the pocket. I asked him if he was ready to go, he said he was and we put him back in. But for me to have a definitive answer for you, we just kind of get a feel for it." year, including a fine performance against Oklahoma on the road the pre- vious week. He's also endured the em- barrassment of being pulled in games against Michigan and Purdue. What was missing up until last Saturday was the full gamut of emotions within the same 60-minute span, and experi- ence managing all of them. "At that point I didn't know I would Golson has felt plenty of highs this get that chance," he said. "I was a little upset just because of the competitor in me just wanted to be out there. But I think it was good for me that I actually [was out there when the game was on the line] this time. "I think previously, in the beginning of the year, I would come out and they would end up telling me [what I did wrong], but I think that just comes from a lot of film study with coaches." Notre Dame will probably be better Assitant Editor Wes Morgan has been with Blue & Gold Illustrated since February 2011. He can be reached at wmorgan@blueandgold.com served if the classroom is moved to the field from now on. ✦