The war for elite status in college football is an endless one, and one the Irish are fit to fight. Nothing less. No consolation. He’s going to be an absolute stud. If Prosise comes back…whoo-wee. Same with Sheldon Day.
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“I’m completely blank inside”, said Kizer, who with 30 seconds left tied the score on a 2-yard run before Justin Yoon’s go-ahead extra point gave the Irish a 36-35 lead.
Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan did the impossible, though, driving Stanford to within field goal range in four quick plays. “It’s the same kick we’ve done 100 times in practice”. Irish offensive coordinator Mike Sanford was a Stanford assistant coach and recruiting coordinator until last season…
No time remaining. No hope remaining. “I thought it was as good as it could get”, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said of his quarterback’s play afterward. Stanford needed those plays because the Cardinal had been unable to slow Notre Dame, which rushed for 299 yards and gained 533 altogether.
“I’m very proud of the team the way they’ve worked and the way they’ve progressed”, Harbaugh said. “Belief in the work we put in, belief in our preparation, belief in our struggles – belief that our struggles helped us to be a better team”. “The fact of the matter is, we’re not going to get that chance”.
And so that’s how Notre Dame’s dream crumbles too. The win over Auburn means it’s all there for Bama to roll through the SEC title game and the playoff. Smith was able to not only take on those blocks, but to then shed them and make plays. “That’s why I love this team”. We played our hearts out against a great team and played until the final whistle. With Notre Dame loading up the box to slow down Heisman candidate running back Christian McCaffrey, Hogan was incredibly efficient, completing 17 of 21 passes for 269 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Notre Dame is loaded with talent, and even if and even after some of this years stars move on to the National Football League, the next team- team 128 will have a fighting chance at the next mission. Against Stanford, Adams ran 18 times for 168 yards with a 62-yard touchdown.
The celebration, however, was short-lived. Florida’s loss to Florida State on Saturday would also keep the Gators behind Stanford even if they pull the upset on Alabama to win the SEC. Hogan looked for his fellow fifth-year senior, reliable wide receiver Devon Cajuste, over the middle.
With the Stanford defense thinking run, Kizer went deep to Fuller, who out-ran the defense for the big gain. After Sanders’ sudden burst, during another enemy advance, he tossed passes and stretched his dusty arm.
The red zone, however, was a different story. “It’s surreal. I felt like it was just yesterday I was playing in my first game against San Jose State”.
In the second quarter’s waning moments, submerged in a 14-10 hole, Kizer took a shotgun snap, looked to his left and fired a familiar bullet. Hood had a career-high 220 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead North Carolina, which had already wrapped up the Coastal Division title and a spot against No. 1 Clemson in the ACC championship game.
Every Notre Dame touchdown before Kizer’s came on a long play.
But it wasn’t the end of the scoring. The Cardinal trailed 15-3 in the third quarter before Hogan took over. As the freshman accelerated, his pursuers shrunk in the distance. And I couldn’t see myself being anywhere else in college.
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But on an unseasonably cold night in California, the fireworks weren’t frequent enough. Quarterback DeShone Kizer and the Fighting Irish have won six games in a row but are coming off a surprisingly close win over Boston College by a final score of 19-16. Three field goals instead of three touchdowns; Solomon Thomas’ fumble recovery, the lone turnover of the night, forced by Brannan Scarlett; the critical Irish penalties that gave Stanford a handful of extra first downs.
