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Notre Dame Beats Army, 44-6

Senior tight end Durham Smythe had two touchdowns against Army.
Senior tight end Durham Smythe had two touchdowns against Army. (Bill Panzica)

A brief recap of Notre Dame's 44-6 win over Army at the Alamodome...

FIRST QUARTER: Notre Dame 21, Army 0

Top moment: Sophomore C.J. Sanders returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown to give the Irish a 7-0 lead.

Stats: Junior quarterback DeShone Kizer was short in the opening quarter, completing 4-of-5 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Josh Adams was the featured running back, carrying six times for 28 yards and a touchdown. Army did not attempt a pass in the opening quarter, running 13 times for 69 yards. Notre Dame had 104 yards in the first quarter.

Items: Freshman receiver Kevin Stepherson caught a 37-yard touchdown on Notre Dame’s second possession, his fourth of the year. On Notre Dame’s third series, Adams scored on a 2-yard run. Fifth-year senior Mark Harrell made the start at right guard. Junior Jonathan Bonner started on the defensive line, and freshman Julian Love started at free safety.

SECOND QUARTER: Notre Dame 38, Army 6

Top moment: Kizer found senior tight end Durham Smythe for a 31-yard touchdown with 37 seconds remaining in the first half.

Stats: Kizer was 13-of-19 passing for 171 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. He also ran for 54 yards on five carries. The Irish out-rushed Army in the first half, 116-111. Adams had 57 of those yards. The leading receiver for the Irish was Stepherson, who had 67 yards. Army A-back Jordan Asberry was the leading rusher, going for 54 yards on three carries.

Items: Early in the second quarter, Army’s Kell Walker scored on a 2-yard run to make it 21-6 Notre Dame. The Irish responded with a nine-play, 71-yard drive, capped by a 10-yard touchdown catch by Smythe, his first score of the day. Sophomore kicker Justin Yoon also kicked a 27-yard field goal in the first half. Notre Dame’s 38 first-half points were its most points in a half since it scored 42 in opening half vs. Air Force on Oct. 8, 2011.

THIRD QUARTER: Notre Dame 38, Army 6

Top moment: Senior running back Tarean Folston had a 3-yard touchdown run with 55 seconds left in the third quarter to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 44-6. The extra point was missed.

Stats: Notre Dame outgained Army 397-186 through three quarters (188-186 rushing, 209-0 passing). The Irish were winning the time of possession battle 25:31-19:29. Notre Dame was 7-of-10 on third down, while Army was 2-of-9.

Items: Army drove 59 yards on nine plays to open the second half, but missed a 33-yard field goal. The Irish responded with a 16-play, 76-yard drive down to the 4 yard line, but Kizer was intercepted in the end zone.

FOURTH QUARTER: Notre Dame 44, Army 6

Top moment: Army's 13-play, 67-yard drive early in the third quarter was ended when Love intercepted Malik McGue in the end zone.

Stats: Notre Dame finished with 476 yards (261 rushing and 215 passing). The Irish held Army to 242 total yards. Kizer was 17 for 28 passing for 209 yards and three touchdowns. He was intercepted once. Folston ended up as Notre Dame's leading rusher, going for 84 yards and a touchdown.

Items: Notre Dame was able to rotate in its reserves in the fourth quarter. Senior quarterback Malik Zaire played the last series, and did the backup offensive line, tight ends, receivers and running backs. The Irish played 30 offensive players.

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