Notre Dame-Nevada: Numbers, Turning Point & More
By The Numbers
2 Points scored by Notre Dame in the second quarter on a safety when Nevada’s Ahki Muhammad fielded a kickoff in the end zone, stepped past the goal line and then downed the ball while moving back into the end zone, resulting in a safety. The play was reminiscent of Notre Dame’s 1987 opening kickoff against Michigan State in which the Spartans’ Blake Ezor caught the ball at the one and stepped back to down the ball, resulting a safety. It will remain forever the fastest score in Notre Dame history, as the clock still read 15:00. The Irish beat the Rose Bowl champs 31-8 with back-to-back punt returns for touchdowns by Tim Brown.
Meanwhile, the safety against Nevada was the first recorded by Notre Dame since a 57-7 victory at Stanford on Nov. 29, 2003 on an errant punt snap.
3 First-time starters for Notre Dame in the Nevada game after starting seven in the opener versus Texas. Freshman free safety Devin Studstill, sophomore Will linebacker Te’von Coney and sophomore receiver CJ Sanders all made their starting debuts with the first team.
5:21 Time of possession on Notre Dame’s 11-play, 75-yard march that ended with a field goal but opened the game’s scoring in the second quarter. It was the longest the Irish owned the ball in the first two games this season.
15-18 Completions-attempts by junior DeShone Kizer, good for 156 yards. What’s interesting is that in Notre Dame’s only other meeting with Nevada, a 35-0 win in the 2009 opener, Irish quarterback Jimmy Clausen also completed 15 passes in 18 attempts — although his 315 yards through the air (and four TDs) were almost exactly double the amount.
25 Points scored by Notre Dame in the second quarter to build its 25-0 halftime lead. They were the most points tallied in any single quarter by the Irish since 28 at Pitt on Sept. 3, 2005, a 42-21 victory in head coach Charlie Weis’ debut.
30-6 Notre Dame’s all-time record against Mountain West Conference opponents, including 2-0 versus Nevada while outscoring the Wolf Pack 74-10. More than 80 percent of the MWC games have been against Air Force, against who the Irish are 24-6.
239 Yards rushing by Notre Dame in the victory versus the Wolf Pack. Since 2002, or the first season under head coach Tyrone Willingham, the Irish are 39-5 when eclipsing 200 yards rushing in a contest.
Turning Point
If there was a flicker of hope left for Nevada in the first half to make the game competitive, it came with 5:03 left until the intermission when it pinned Notre Dame back at its 12 while trailing 18-0. A defensive hold by Nevada, getting the ball in good field position off a punt, scoring before halftime and then receiving the second half kickoff could have at least made it interesting.
The Wolf Pack put Notre Dame into a third-and-14 hole at its 8-yard line, but junior wideout Corey Holmes made his first career catch on a 15-yard pass from junior quarterback DeShone Kizer. The methodical downfield march continued while converting on third-and-two and third-and-three. The 88-yard in 13 plays drive culminated with a two-yard option pitch to senior running back Tarean Folston with 35 seconds left to make it an overwhelming 25-0 at halftime.
Stat Of The Game
Notre Dame finished 6-for-6 in the red zone. More importantly, the last five resulted in touchdowns.
While achieving this against an out-manned Nevada defense might be construed as padding the numbers, the fact that Notre Dame was able to accomplish it with mainly a sophomore and freshman contingent at the running back and receiver positions is encouraging. Kizer especially has a nose for the goal line with his 230-pound frame, but he also has maneuvered near the goal line to buy time for his receivers. Notable is that even though the Irish have several large targets for fades or jump balls, it was sophomore CJ Sanders, at 5-8, and freshman Kevin Stephenson, at 6-0, that were found for four- and seven-yard scores.
Game Balls
Offense: Josh Adams — Kind of under the radar because of the outstanding emergence of fellow sophomores Equanimeous St. Brown (six catches, 85 yards) and Sanders (107 all-purpose yards) at receiver, but his combination of burst and power is possibly earning him some separation in the backfield. He finished with 10 carries for 106 yards while also displaying more physicality than last season.
Defense: James Onwualu — The senior captain/Sam linebacker was conspicuous throughout the after, with two of his five solo stops resulting in lost yardage
Special Team: CJ Sanders — His lone punt return, 24 yards, set up Notre Dame at the Nevada 25 for its first TD drive. His single kickoff return of 37 yards to the Irish 43 set up the final Irish touchdown.
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