The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame picked up their eighth
victory of the season by defeating the Brigham Young Cougars, 23-13 last
Saturday. I predicted the Irish to win 23-20, so this game went about as I
expected. It was a well played game and an exciting way to send out the senior
class on their day. The Irish played extremely well in all facets of the game
for a complete team-victory.
The action started when Tommy Rees hit DaVaris Daniels in
stride for 61-yard touchdown to give the Irish an early 7-0 lead. The Cougars responded
with a 12-play, 71-yard drive that was capped off with a 7-yard touchdown pass
from Taysom Hill to JD Falslev. With the game now tied 7-7, Notre Dame answered
right back with an 8-play, 75-yard touchdown drive of their own to give the Irish
a 14-7 lead. Kyle Brindza would later add a 26-yard field goal to extend Notre
Dame’s lead to 17-7 at halftime. In the second half, BYU and Notre Dame each
kicked two field goals to secure a 10-point win for the Irish.
The Positives
1. Brian Kelly’s game
plan. In order for Notre Dame to win this game, I said they needed to run
the ball and have a balanced attack. Maybe it wasn’t balanced, but the Irish
were running at will on the Cougars’ defense. With the weather and the success
of the running game, Brian Kelly keep feeding the ball to his running backs to
the tone of 47 carries. The Irish backs racked up 235 yards on the ground, led
by Cam McDaniel (117 yards) and Tarean Folston (78 yards). It was the type of
performance Notre Dame needed to win the game, and it was refreshing to see
Brian Kelly lean on the running game. In addition to the successful day on the
ground, the Irish also had a very productive passing day. Tommy Rees completed
15 of his 28 passes for 235 yards and one touchdown. Rees did throw a poor pass
that resulted in an interception, but overall he had a strong performance.
After the game, Brian Kelly said that this is the type of game the Irish need
to play moving forward, and I agree. While Brain Kelly has shown a tendency to
abandon the passing game like he did against Pittsburgh, Kelly has also shown
that he can lean heavily on the running game when needed. If Kelly is going to be
ripped for his pass-heavy game plans, then Irish fans should also applaud him
for his coaching on Saturday.
2. Few mistakes. Outside
of the Tommy Rees interception, Notre Dame made very few mistakes. There were
no fumbles, the Irish only committed four penalties that totaled 25 yards, and they
were flawless in the kicking game.
3. Special teams. Kyle
Brindza lead the way by converting all three of his field goal attempts and
both of his extra point tries, including a clutch 51-yard field goal to extend
Notre Dame’s lead to 23-13 in the fourth quarter. Jarron Jones also made a huge
impact by blocking a 22-yard field goal attempt with 4:15 left in the game. In
any close game field goals are important, and the Irish made plays in the
kicking game that significantly affected the outcome of the game.
The Negatives
1. Rushing defense. One
of the keys to winning this game was to keep Taysom Hill and the BYU running
game in check, but that didn’t go as well as planned. The Cougars were able to
rack up 247 yards on the ground, with Hill and Paul Lasik each gaining 101
yards. In particular, Hill carried the ball 24 times and proved to be a real
threat against the Irish defense. Fortunately, Notre Dame’s passing defense
picked up the slack and held the Cougars to only 168 yards through the air on
36 pass attempts. Because BYU was only averaging 4.7 yards per attempt, Notre
Dame’s defense was able to keep the big-plays and scoring to a minimum.
2. Rees’
interception. With the Irish leading 20-13 with just over 12 minutes to go
in the game, Tommy Rees threw a careless interception on 2nd and 14
from the BYU 22. Rees was looking for the 6’7’’ Troy Niklas in the front corner
of the end zone, but Craig Bills stepped in front of the pass to get the
interception. It was really the only mistake that Rees made on Saturday, and it
was one the Irish were able to overcome by forcing a BYU punt five plays later.
3. Nick Martin’s
injury. The injuries continued to mount on Saturday when center Nick Martin
left the game early due to an injury. Martin tore his MCL and will be out for
six months, which will also include the Spring 2014 practices. Matt Hegarty
will step in Martin’s place for the final two games of the year. It is just another
significant injury for a key member of the team, and another example of how the
“next man up” mantra continues to be a slogan for the 2013 season.
-Eric Tichelbaut
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