Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly ended months of speculation Wednesday by naming junior DeShone Kizer the team’s starting quarterback. Notre Dame was one of three teams to have allowed multiple plays of 60 or more yards in Week 1, joining USC and, oddly enough, Houston.
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Since Notre Dame’s 2015 season ended January 1, the two-man race for the Irish’s 2016 starting quarterback spot has been neck-and-neck. They just had a running back (Aaron Jones) rush the ball 31 times for 249 yards. There are a couple things I will adjust and that we will be better at. “We’re going to take it one week at a time”, Gilbert said. “But, again, it’s like anything else, it’s college football and you’ve got young guys that you’ve got to coach and we look to get better next week against Nevada”.
Kizer said he plans to change nothing about his preparation knowing his status as starter a little sooner this week than last.
Notre Dame plays Michigan State in two weeks, then Stanford and USC later this season. Heard made a pair of catches against Notre Dame, including a key 68-yard grab, and totaled 73 yards.
The game will mark the 250th consecutive sellout at Notre Dame Stadium, a streak that began after the 1973 season. “We have many more to go, but this is a great start for us”.
“We evaluate from week to week”.
“I think everybody should just tap the brakes and relax”. “So as far as I know, it’s day to day”. “So anything that we do from a defensive standpoint has my signature on it”. Both of them came in virtual back-to-back fashion, with a 68-yard grab by Jerrod Heard and the 72-yard touchdown reception to John Burt on the third quarter’s second play sandwiched around a half-ending kneel down.
But Kizer also started Sunday’s season opener, so the fact he would go out first is no surprise.
The Longhorns thrived on first down, where they gained almost half of their yardage. It wasn’t against Texas. In this situation though, the script is flipped a bit, as the true freshman (Buechele) is the one in charge of engineering the entire offense and the spreading the ball out, and the senior quarterback (Swoopes) is the one being utilized through power run game out of the shotgun. But I don’t think anything so drastic has to happen for the Irish to be able to successfully utilize two QBs.
Texas pulled off the biggest win of opening weekend and turned the momentum firmly in its favor with a double-overtime triumph over Notre Dame on Sunday.
Kizer hit 15 of 24 passes for 215 yards Sunday and, not counting sacks, had 11 carries for 85 yards. Kizer threw for five touchdowns and ran for another and guided Notre Dame within field-goal range two other times on 13 possessions. I probably would have called myself a liar, so I know you would have done the same thing. Zaire was the unquestioned starter a year ago until a season-ending ankle injury in the second game.
DeShone Kizer says Brian Kelly told him he’s the starter. “It would be awesome, and they couldn’t block both of us”, Graham said.
“Once you’ve played on the road in the SEC, it might be the same but it won’t be any harder”, Polian said of playing in front of Notre Dame’s crowd. The play wasn’t flagged for a targeting penalty in the moment, nor after officials saw the replay, which is now possible under new rules.
On Tuesday, the Big 12 Conference recognized three Longhorn players for their effort in the Notre Dame win. “My job for them is to go and play the best I can for them as well as for my teammates and give them a good anniversary gift”.
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For Kelly, it would’ve been counter-productive to publicly lambast his coordinator (or worse, his players) after one game given the emergent need for a defensive turnaround.
