QB DeShone Kizer and Notre Dame’s receivers vs. the Michigan State secondary.
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After their first two games of the 2016 season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish went into Saturday’s game against Michigan State as a team with an identity crisis.
The Spartans are not a team that should feel they can not improve. The Irish offense did not respond well, as Kizer was promptly intercepted on the second play of the drive by junior Michigan State linebacker Jon Reschke. Now quarterback Tyler O’Connor and the number twelve ranked MSU Spartans look to win on the road tonight. He didn’t see that O’Connor under threw it, rendering his costly sacrifice unnecessary.
Could four plays go any worse for the Irish than the ones that transpired in the second quarter?
“We’ve been down twice, big, against two really good teams, and we put ourselves back in a position to win both games – but we couldn’t because we made too many mistakes”, Kelly said. “This is everywhere and this is on me”. This is a football team that once again will be in the upper crust of the Big Ten, and announced itself again as a playoff contender. From down 15-7 at halftime to a 36-7 hole late in the third quarter, Notre Dame never fully recovered.
The Fighting Irish made it a one-score game when Kizer fired a strike to tight end Durham Smythe for a 12-yard touchdown with 6:02 to play.
After being held to seven points by Illinois State last week, Northwestern scored on the game’s opening drive. Adams gained 29 yards on 12 carries (2.4). On the ground, LJ Scott rushed for 105 yards and a touchdown in 20 attempts while R.J. Shelton had 32 yards in an attempt.
The Irish hosted 50-plus recruits for the primetime matchup, but Kelly said he was asked by just one prospect how he plans on fixing the defense.
Michigan State didn’t even need the two-point conversion, it was early in the game and an extra point would’ve tied it up. These are the players that are going to play for us.
Can you express the frustration of costly mistakes? Irish coach Brian Kelly isn’t the least bit concerned about how they’ll handle it, but it’s something to watch. “We’re struggling right there trying to get consistency out of that position”.
“So Coach Dantonio and his staff have done an incredible job of establishing a good culture there on the defensive side of the ball”.
Penn State 34, Temple 27: Trace McSorley completed 18 of 24 passes for 287 yards with one touchdown and an interception and rushed for another score in State College, Pennsylvania. Notre Dame finished with 401 yards of total offense and 344 of those yards came through the air. Brown at the 2:40 mark of the third.
“I keep them all”, Kelly said.
Michigan State and Notre Dame renew their rivalry on Saturday, Sept. 17, facing off at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Big third quarter, great rally by Notre Dame, DeShone Kizer has a great third and fourth quarter, very poised.
Brian Kelly says someone who helps run his Twitter account was responsible for “inadvertently” liking a post suggesting he fire defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder. “We had gotten a couple of stops defensively. They’re going to have to be able to make the tackles the following week against the next opposition”. Fans booed Notre Dame with 5 minutes left in the third quarter following a pair of runs for no gain.
“They’re just physical”, Irish safety Drue Tranquill said earlier in the week, when asked what he admires about Michigan State’s defense.
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“We can cry all we want about what we didn’t do”, Kelly said, “but we have to start doing it”. We can’t trade em, they’re not getting cut. So I told our staff, ‘Those are our guys. “These are plays that we’ve got to continue to work on and fundamentally get better at”.
