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| The Goodyear Blimp flies over Notre Dame Stadium amidst sunshine and 83 degree heat |
TheNDleprechaun:
Overall MVP: David Ruffer
- accounted for 11 of Notre Dame's 23 points with field goals from 32, 50, and 31 yards out; His long-range leg has given this Fighting Irish team something it has lacked over the past several seasons
Offensive MVP: Michael Floyd
- got Notre Dame on the board with a 1 yd TD reception; finished the day with 7 catches for 59 yards; now tied with Tom Gatewood for fifth most receiving touchdowns in school history
Defensive MVP: Harrison Smith
- finally looked comfortable as a cover-two safety, leading the team with 11 tackles, 2 pass breakups, and adding an interception
Special Teams MVP: David Ruffer
- Set an all-time school record by hitting 16 straight field goals; praised by Kelly for confidently kicking the sixth longest field goal in school history at a critical point in the game
Breakout Player: Ben Turk
- played a crucial role by helping the FIghting Irish win the field position battle; showed consistency for the first time in his career, netting over 46 yds per punt and landing 3 inside the 20
Best Play: Dayne Crist's 10 yard TD run
- As Kelly noted last week, our offense is tremendously more successful when Crist presents a running threat; on this play he showed athleticism that future opponents will have to account for
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| The victorious Fighting Irish sing the alma mater |
Overall MVP: Zack Martin
ReplyDeletePlayed out of position due to Dever's injury and contained Sheard except for one sack and one false start
Offensive MVP: Zack Martin
Defensive MVP: Harrison Smith
Had his best day in an ND uniform despite dropping a second INT
Special Teams MVP: David Ruffer
50 yarder and his other kicks were the difference
Breakout Player: Ben Turk
Also had a career day, especially considering Pitt's max block scheme
Best Play: Gary Gray's PBU
Sealed victory by playing the ball and giving Baldwin no cushion
I know he is young and new but the play of third and ---- has to be for -----. He keeps dunking it for half the amount and we turn it over on downs. Someone should be open enough to give it a try.
ReplyDeleteRuffer had 11 points, three fgs + two pats
ReplyDeleteOverall MVP: David Ruffer
ReplyDelete-Ruffer furthered his perfect record to an all-time school high of 16/16 with 31, 32, and 51 yard field goals for the Irish, tallying 9 points. This transfer and walk-on is proving to be Rudy 2.0: The Starter Edition.
Offensive MVP: Theo Riddick
-Although he didn't leave the field with a touchdown, Riddick continually kept Irish scoring drives alive; ending with 7 pcompletions for 75 yards.
Defensive MVP: Harrison Smith
-With two pass breakups, an interception, and a team-leading 11 tackles, Smith displayed tremendous athletic ability and his potential to be a big threat for the Irish at safety.
Special Teams MVP: David Ruffer
-See above
Breakout Player: Ben Turk
-Maybe it's the soccer player in me, but I'm loving Irish kickers this week. Turk gave the Irish defense a strong advantage when it came to field position, punting 5 times for a total of 233 yards - an average of 46.6 yards per kick.
Best Play: The Irish's Pink Accessorizing
-October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the Irish demonstrated their support of this cause by wearing gear from the adidas Breast Cancer Collection - proving these boys are above and beyond your average college football player in not only skill, but also character. Breast cancer affects many people, but is especially near and dear to the hearts of coach Brian Kelly, whose wife is a two-time breast cancer survivor, as well as linebacker Carlo Calabrese, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. In fact, Calabrese has a tattoo of the pink breast cancer ribbon over his heart with the quote 'only if I was as strong as you,' reminding him of her fight every time he pulls on that Fightin' Irish jersey.
Can someone explain to me how we can have the premier (allegedly) Tight End in the nation and not utilize him? I can only think of two reasons ... either our coaches (OC or Head) are calling a crappy game (oh yeah, they are) or the QB is making poor decisions. How can so many 3rd downs end up with Rudolph catching a pass just short of the first down marker??? Add to the above the fact that the #1 QB recruit in the nation from 3 years ago continues to miss wide open receivers. To say I'm disappointed with the development of the team would be an understatement. This game should have been a rout. Instead, we had a game that could have gone either way.
ReplyDeleteIrish Right...Rudolph is suffering from a nagging hamstring injury. BK said he's about 75%. Dayne's pass to Rudy on the wheel route looked nice but Rudolph doesn't have his usual speed right now.
ReplyDeleteRuffer is a beast. Possible walk-on to NFL story. Also on the topic of special teams, just wanted to say an honorable mention for Barry Gallup for tackling Pitt's punter on the fake at the beginning of the second half. Huge.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to emphasize tendomer's point about Rudy's hamstring injury. He has been hurting all year, and by just being on the field he is showing how much of a warrior he is. Coach Kelly told the media that Rudy refuses to be held out of games, also claiming that THE premiere tight end in the nation is better at 75% than most are at 100%. He has obviously lost a step or two due to the injury, and anyone can easily see that he hasn't played as big of a role in our game plan than he would otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to point out that although "Dave Wannstedt's Mustache" beat The Leprechaun in the hypothetical fight on our poll, the Fighting Irish did beat the Panthers... and a win is a win is a win...
Finally, I agree that Ruffer is a beast, but I disagree that Gallup's tackle was worthy of honorable mention. If a 5th year senior can't tackle a PUNTER after an extended career of practicing special teams and scout team tackles then we have a problem...
Now we face a schedule like most teams play weekly!! How many teams with a 3-3 record played a schedule like ours!! If we had Boise St. schedule we would be 5-1 no doubt!! Lets roll Irish!!
ReplyDelete