Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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16 FEBRUARY 2018 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI I t was déjà vu for Notre Dame dur‑ ing its 21‑17 Citrus Bowl victory versus LSU on New Year's Day. Three years earlier in the Music City Bowl following a miserable No‑ vember, Notre Dame posted an 11th‑ hour 31‑28 win versus the Tigers with first‑time starting quarterback Malik Zaire named the MVP and with the defense posting a goal‑line stand. This time, after another disappoint‑ ing November, the Irish defeated LSU with a late drive again, this time with sophomore reserve quarterback Book surprisingly leading it. Mean‑ while junior wideout Miles Boykin (three catches for 102 yards and one touchdown) was named MVP — which head coach Brian Kelly pre‑ dicted in a practice prior to the game. Stout goal‑line stands by the Fight‑ ing Irish in both halves also pro‑ pelled the win. Book started the second half and rallied Notre Dame (10‑3) from a 14‑6 fourth‑quarter deficit with two touchdown passes, the latter a 55‑yarder to Boykin, who made a su‑ perb one‑handed catch‑and‑run with 1:28 remaining. Earlier in the final quarter, Book found freshman wide receiver Mi‑ chael Young for a six‑yard touch‑ down pass and then tied the game at 14 with a two‑point shovel pass to junior running back Josh Adams. Book finished the game 14‑of‑19 passing for 164 yards with the two scores, and added 36 rushing yards on 11 carries. Inserted near the end of the first half to run the two‑minute drill in a scoreless game, Book led the Irish to a field goal and then played the entire second half. "We have great confidence in Ian," Kelly said. "We threw him right into the fire, and he leads a winning drive in a game that was on the line. … It doesn't surprise us that he's able to do that." "It's just a blur," Boykin said. "We talk about situations like this all the time, and it's not often you get to be in one like this. "It's an extremely humbling mo‑ ment for me just to be able to go out there and help make a play to help my team win." Book referred to it as a "surreal moment." FIRST QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 0, LSU 0 Top Moment: On the game's open‑ ing series, Adams was thrown for a three‑yard loss on fourth‑and‑one at the LSU 31. The drive was set up with a 35‑yard pass from junior start‑ ing quarterback Brandon Wimbush to junior wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown on the first play. Feature Performer: Notre Dame sophomore cornerback Julian Love had excellent coverage on LSU's first play in which the Tigers went deep, broke up a pass to end the second series, and forced an incomplete pass on third down on the third Tigers possession. Stats: Notre Dame compiled 102 yards of total offense (52 passing and 50 rushing), and LSU 77 (51 rushing and 26 passing). M i s c e l l a n e o u s : L S U ' s J o s h Growden and Notre Dame's Tyler Newsome both had pooch punts that resulted in the Irish starting at the 2‑yard line and the Tigers at the 3‑yard line … Notre Dame's four se‑ ries in the quarter began on its own 25‑, 2‑, 13‑ and 10‑yard lines. LSU fumbled twice, once on a punt snap and then by senior wideout DJ Chark on a punt return, but the Ti‑ gers recovered the ball both times in their territory. SECOND QUARTER: NOTRE DAME 3, LSU 0 Top Moment: Halfway through the quarter, the Tigers had second‑ and‑goal at the Irish 2‑yard line, but gained only one yard on second down and could not quarterback sneak in the football on third down. On fourth down, LSU fullback Tory Carter was called for illegal motion, thereby forcing a field goal attempt by Connor Culp that went wide right with 7:45 left. Feature Performer: Notre Dame's red‑zone defense effectiveness helped result in two missed field goals by LSU. The second miss came from Jack Gonsoulin from 37 yards with two minutes left after LSU had a first‑ and‑10 at the Irish 19. No gain on first down and a tackle for an eight‑ yard loss by senior rover Drue Tran‑ quill helped stifle the drive. Stats: LSU ran 34 plays in the first half for 187 yards, rushing for 76 yards on 19 carries and completing 9 of 15 passes for 111 yards. Notre Dame's 33 plays netted 154 yards, garnering 69 yards on 19 rush‑ ing attempts and finishing 6‑of‑14 passing for 85 yards. LSU possessed the ball 18:42 to Notre Dame's 11:18. Miscellaneous: With two minutes left in the half after LSU's second missed field goal, Book was inserted, and his 21‑yard scramble on third‑ and‑19 plus an 18‑yard completion to Boykin set up junior kicker Justin Yoon's 46‑yard field goal with four seconds remaining for the game's first score. LSU's defense had forced three straight three‑and‑outs, which re‑ sulted in the change to Book from Wimbush — who was 2‑of‑7 passing for 17 yards after his completion to St. Brown on the game's first play. THIRD QUARTER: LSU 7, NOTRE DAME 6 Top Moment: The game's first touchdown came with 11:37 left in the quarter on a 20‑yard middle screen from LSU quarterback Danny Etling to running back Derrius Guice on third‑and‑four. The drive was set up when Notre Dame freshman Isa‑ iah Robertson did not see where the ball bounced on an LSU punt, result‑ ing in it hitting his foot and LSU long snapper Blake Ferguson recovering it at the Irish 43‑yard line. Feature Performer: Despite often facing duress, Etling completed 4 of 6 passes for 64 yards in the quar‑ By The Book Sophomore quarterback Ian Book leads Notre Dame to a 21-17 come- back victory over LSU in Citrus Bowl Book accounted for 200 yards of total offense and two touchdowns while rallying the Irish past the Tigers. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA