Photo by Rick Kimball/ISD
Notre Dame Football
Sad Senior Sendoff
November 20, 2016
1,335
Written by Garrett Haydon
The Irish welcomed the Virginia Tech Hokies to Notre Dame Stadium Saturday afternoon on Senior Day. Even though it was Senior Day, it was the younger players who stepped up for the Irish, but with the season on the line, the Irish struggled mightily in the second half and lost a tough 34-31 decision.
The loss clinched their first losing season in nine years. They needed victories today and next week at USC in order to clinch a bowl berth.
The Irish had a chance to drive down the field for a tie with 1:07 to play and no timeouts, but the drive stalled around midfield as Josh Adams dropped a couple of passes.
Malik Zaire entered the game on the final play at quarterback for an injured DeShone Kizer, but his pass fell incomplete and the game ended.
Virginia Tech entered at 7-3, led by its strong defense and junior dual-threat quarterback Jerod Evans, who came into the game having accounted for 28 total touchdowns. The Hokies were coming off a 30-20 loss to an unranked Georgia Tech squad last Saturday while the Irish dominated Army 44-6.
The Irish dominated early, racing out to a 17-0 lead but were slowed in the second half by the Virginia Tech defense. After a poor start, Evans found his rhythm to lead the Hokies all the way back. He finished the game with 334 total yards and three touchdowns. By comparison, Kizer was 16 of 33 with 235 yards and 2 scores. He was just 3 of 15 in the second half for 36 yards.
“I think there was a little bit of both,” said Kelly on whether Kizer’s second-half struggles were his own doing or that of the Hokies’ defensive scheme. “We had some opportunities that we missed in terms of throws. We had some catches that we didn't make.
“I don't know that there is one thing. When I caution you about watching the film, I think there are a lot of different things. I don't think it's just one thing. Maybe a couple protection issues. Couple routes that weren't run properly. I think maybe couple things that we could have done better in terms of play calls. A little bit of everything. I don't think there was one specific thing I can put my finger on.”
Rick Kimball/ISD
Torii Hunter Jr.
Virginia Tech opened the second half on offense and made a difference almost immediately. C.J. Carroll caught a crossing route and took it all the way down to inside the 10-yard line for a 62-yard gain. Steven Peoples then punched it in from two yards out to cut the Irish lead to three just 2:17 into the second half.
On the ensuing drive, the Irish went three and out, continuing the Hokie momentum. Tyler Newsome had another strong punt as Virginia Tech took over at their own 30-yard line. Isaiah Ford had a couple of huge receptions on the Hokies' drive, but the drive stalled around the 40-yard line and resulted in a punt.
The Irish offense continued to have problems as they failed to pick up more than one first down on their next drive and were forced to punt yet again.
“Too many cooks at that point really creates problems,” Kelly said when asked about some of the second-half stalls. “So I'm trying the best I can to offer some solutions, but you really have to trust in the play-calling and the execution, quite frankly is part of that.
“So play-calling, execution. We had some opportunities we didn't convert. You know, really a tale of two halves. You're right. Obviously offensively we got it going very well in the first half; in the second half we weren't as sharp.”
Just as the momentum seemed to be going in the Hokies favor, Cam Phillips had a deep pass from Evans go off his fingertips and into the arms of Notre Dame safety Drue Tranquill.
The Irish swing of momentum continued as Josh Adams burst through the line of scrimmage and took the run 67 yards to the house to get the Irish lead back to 10 with 3:49 to go in the third. Adams' run was the longest rush of the season for the Irish.
The Hokies answered right back as Joey Slye made a 25-yard field goal, but the Irish defense stood tall in the redzone stuffing Evans on a couple quarterback sneaks. Virginia Tech got the ball back quickly as the Irish went three and out once again.
The Hokies drove into the red zone after a controversial pass interference call on Cole Luke. Evans capitalized on the penalty as he found Bucky Hodges in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard score to tie up the game at 31 with 9:13 remaining in the game.
The Hokie momentum continued as the Irish went three and out. Virginia Tech entered the red zone yet again, this time Slye hitting a 20-yarder to give them their first lead of the game at 34-31 with just 4:19 left.
The Irish welcomed the Virginia Tech Hokies to Notre Dame Stadium Saturday afternoon on Senior Day. Even though it was Senior Day, it was the younger players who stepped up for the Irish, but with the season on the line, the Irish struggled mightily in the second half and lost a tough 34-31 decision.
The loss clinched their first losing season in nine years. They needed victories today and next week at USC in order to clinch a bowl berth.
The Irish had a chance to drive down the field for a tie with 1:07 to play and no timeouts, but the drive stalled around midfield as Josh Adams dropped a couple of passes.
Malik Zaire entered the game on the final play at quarterback for an injured DeShone Kizer, but his pass fell incomplete and the game ended.
Virginia Tech entered at 7-3, led by its strong defense and junior dual-threat quarterback Jerod Evans, who came into the game having accounted for 28 total touchdowns. The Hokies were coming off a 30-20 loss to an unranked Georgia Tech squad last Saturday while the Irish dominated Army 44-6.
The Irish dominated early, racing out to a 17-0 lead but were slowed in the second half by the Virginia Tech defense. After a poor start, Evans found his rhythm to lead the Hokies all the way back. He finished the game with 334 total yards and three touchdowns. By comparison, Kizer was 16 of 33 with 235 yards and 2 scores. He was just 3 of 15 in the second half for 36 yards.
“I think there was a little bit of both,” said Kelly on whether Kizer’s second-half struggles were his own doing or that of the Hokies’ defensive scheme. “We had some opportunities that we missed in terms of throws. We had some catches that we didn't make.
“I don't know that there is one thing. When I caution you about watching the film, I think there are a lot of different things. I don't think it's just one thing. Maybe a couple protection issues. Couple routes that weren't run properly. I think maybe couple things that we could have done better in terms of play calls. A little bit of everything. I don't think there was one specific thing I can put my finger on.”
Rick Kimball/ISD
Torii Hunter Jr.
On the ensuing drive, the Irish went three and out, continuing the Hokie momentum. Tyler Newsome had another strong punt as Virginia Tech took over at their own 30-yard line. Isaiah Ford had a couple of huge receptions on the Hokies' drive, but the drive stalled around the 40-yard line and resulted in a punt.
The Irish offense continued to have problems as they failed to pick up more than one first down on their next drive and were forced to punt yet again.
“Too many cooks at that point really creates problems,” Kelly said when asked about some of the second-half stalls. “So I'm trying the best I can to offer some solutions, but you really have to trust in the play-calling and the execution, quite frankly is part of that.
“So play-calling, execution. We had some opportunities we didn't convert. You know, really a tale of two halves. You're right. Obviously offensively we got it going very well in the first half; in the second half we weren't as sharp.”
Just as the momentum seemed to be going in the Hokies favor, Cam Phillips had a deep pass from Evans go off his fingertips and into the arms of Notre Dame safety Drue Tranquill.
The Irish swing of momentum continued as Josh Adams burst through the line of scrimmage and took the run 67 yards to the house to get the Irish lead back to 10 with 3:49 to go in the third. Adams' run was the longest rush of the season for the Irish.
The Hokies answered right back as Joey Slye made a 25-yard field goal, but the Irish defense stood tall in the redzone stuffing Evans on a couple quarterback sneaks. Virginia Tech got the ball back quickly as the Irish went three and out once again.
The Hokies drove into the red zone after a controversial pass interference call on Cole Luke. Evans capitalized on the penalty as he found Bucky Hodges in the corner of the end zone for a 7-yard score to tie up the game at 31 with 9:13 remaining in the game.
The Hokie momentum continued as the Irish went three and out. Virginia Tech entered the red zone yet again, this time Slye hitting a 20-yarder to give them their first lead of the game at 34-31 with just 4:19 left.
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