Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/94187
BY THE NUMBERS TAKING A CLOSER LOOK fort to play four quarters of football, one of Irish head coach Brian Kelly's steps on the to-do list is to get on the board early. Notre Dame did just that, with senior running back Cierre Wood posting the longest rushing touchdown of the season (68 yards) less than two minutes after the opening kickoff. Sophomore quarterback Everett Golson also threw touchdown passes to senior tight end Tyler Eif- ert and fifth-year senior wide receiver John Goodman for a quick 21-0 first-quarter margin. • Forceful hand. While What Worked • off to the races. In an ef- Deacons converting less than a third of their third-down tries and never having any red-zone chances to get on the board. • Hot pocket. The Irish con- and linebackers were capable of penetrating and initiating contact in the backfield. • Under control. The dink- turnovers didn't play a big role in the result of the game, Notre Dame established an upper hand early in the con- test with the first and only takeaway. A big hit by senior inside linebacker Carlo Ca- labrese separated Wake For- est running back Josh Harris from the football and sent a message that the Irish were out to play a physical game. Notre Dame kept that tone throughout the remainder of the contest, with the Demon trolled the pocket on both sides of the football. The of- fensive line, led by the efforts of fifth-year senior center Braxston Cave, gave Golson all the time in the world to make decisions with the football. Meanwhile, the defensive line, starting with junior anchor Louis Nix III in the middle, kept Wake Forest quarterback Tanner Price on his heels by sacking him once and applying pressure on four other occasions. performed near flawlessly, but on area that could use im- provement is the zone block- ing. The Irish offense line sus- tained blocks long enough for both Wood and sophomore running back George Atkin- son III to hit pay dirt on 68- and nine-yard runs, respec- tively, but there were some scenarios where the smaller, quicker defensive linemen What didn't Work • in the zone. Notre Dame having any mistakes in a full game of football is unlikely, but the Irish can strive to have fewer unforced errors. Notre Dame was hit with five penal- ties for 31 yards, including a hold on kick return, an off- sides and an illegal substitu- tion. Golson also made a rare mistake against Wake Forest when he decided to throw a football late off of his back foot into double coverage to senior wide receiver Robby Toma and was intercepted. — Jason Sapp and-dunk attack looked to be the way to go early in the contest for the Demon Deacons, with a receiving weapon like redshirt junior flanker Michael Companaro in the fray. But the Notre Dame front seven dug its heels in and applied more pressure and reduced how open those target areas were with junior outside lineback- ers Danny Spond and Ishaq Williams being used to cover the flats. • Mistake-free play. Not BY LOU SOMOGYI