Tag: Adon Shuler

Notre Dame vs. Georgia College Football Playoff highlight: Adon Shuler forces fumble

Notre Dame forces a key turnover early against Georgia

With the Georgia Bulldogs driving against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on its second possession of the Allstate Sugar Bowl, Irish safety [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] stepped up and forced a fumble from Bulldogs running back [autotag]Trevor Etienne[/autotag].

Etienne’s miscue ended up in the hands of Notre Dame linebacker [autotag]Jaiden Ausberry[/autotag], the first fumble that he has had all season.

This stopped what appeared to be an effective drive from Georgia’s offense, and it might help jumpstart an Irish squad that went three-and-out on its first possession.

Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) controls the ball during the first quarter against Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jack Kiser (24) at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame vs. Georgia: First-Quarter Analysis

Nothing on the scoreboard so far.

(This story has been updated to add a photo.)

Did Notre Dame having to wait an extra day to play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl end up hurting? Objectively, it’s too soon to make that call. Still, Irish fans have to feel extremely fortunate that their team is in a scoreless tie with the Bulldogs after the first quarter.

The Irish barely have had the ball themselves, and the defense has featured a combination of bad penalties and allowing third-down conversions for Gunner Stockton, who barely has played this season compared to the injured Carson Beck. Were it not for [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] forcing a Trevor Etienne fumble that [autotag]Jaiden Ausberry[/autotag] recovered, we might be talking about a different score.

Is it possible the injuries sustained to the Irish’s defensive line throughout the season finally have caught up with them? The Bulldogs came into this game with a much healthier offensive line that also happened to have a weight advantage on the Irish. That will be a concern all game.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?

Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?

The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.

Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:

Notre Dame vs. Virginia: Second-Quarter Analysis

This quarter lasted over an hour and was quite crazy.

If you were hoping for more action between Notre Dame and Virginia in the second quarter, you would have gotten some. In a quarter that lasted over an hour in real time, the Irish had one crazy moment after another, and it ended with them holding a 28-0 halftime lead.

Both teams continued to struggle offensively for the first few minutes. After [autotag]Max Hurleman[/autotag] muffed a punt and the Cavaliers recovered, the Irish’s 7-0 lead appeared to be in jeopardy. But the Irish took the ball right back a few plays later when [autotag]Rod Heard II[/autotag] forced a Kobe Pace fumble that was recovered by [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].

The difference between the two turnovers is that the Irish took advantage. Their offense had its most productive drive of the day, and it culminated when [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] hit [autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] for an 8-yard touchdown.

On the next possession, Leonard fired another apparent touchdown pass to Harrison from 78 yards out, but it was wiped out when [autotag]Pat Coogan[/autotag] was penalized for illegal hands to the face.

Another apparent touchdown then was wiped out after a very confusing sequence. Faced with fourth-and-11, the Irish opted to fake a punt and try a fumblerooski, and [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] ran the ball 73 yards to the house. However, the officials called it back for illegal formation, much to the chagrin of the Notre Dame Stadium fans and the NBC announcers.

But that touchdown was dying to be scored, and it finally was after [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] returned an interception 46 yards and Leonard immediately faked a handoff before firing to an open [autotag]Cooper Flanagan[/autotag] in the end zone from 2 yards out.

The Irish weren’t finished though. Anthony Colandrea threw another interception, this one to [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag]. On the final of three subsequent passes, [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] had a 16-yard touchdown.

Colandrea kept feeling generous though because Watts picked off another one of his passes in the waning seconds of the quarter. Although [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] missed a 54-yard field goal as time expired, the Irish still deserved a rest in the locker room after everything that had just happened.

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Notre Dame Week 12 highlight: Adon Shuler steals it away

Notre Dame gets a big pick from Adon Shuler

It’s been a wild few minutes at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.

The No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are hosting the Virginia Cavaliers on Senior Day and the final few minutes of the first half have been bonkers.

It started with Notre Dame having a long touchdown pass from quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] to wide receiver [autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] coming back on a penalty. Then Notre Dame appeared to perfectly execute a fake punt for a touchdown with wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] running it in. But that came back on an illegal formation penalty and the Irish punted for real.

Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea then threw an interception to Notre Dame safety [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag], who returned it to the Virginia 2-yard line.

We’re in for a frantic finish to the first half in South Bend.

Adon Shuler had a big play early against Navy.
Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) walks off the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Second-Quarter Analysis

The Irish are up with 30 minutes in the books.

(This story was updated to add new information).

[autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] wanted to finish what he started for Notre Dame late in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, he ran for 65 yards and initially appeared to have just missed the end zone.

But a replay review confirmed Price had kept his foot in bounds, so he had a touchdown to extend the Irish’s lead over Florida State to 14-3.

There wasn’t a lot of action to speak of for a while after that, though the Irish’s defense had an interesting sequence. After [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] went out with an injury, [autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] picked him up with back-to-back sacks on Brock Glenn to unseat Cross as the Irish’s sacks leader.

After getting close to Seminoles punter Alex Mastromanno a few times, [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] got a piece of a punt, and that allowed the Irish’s offense to start a drive at midfield. It didn’t mean a thing though as the Irish never reached the red zone, and a [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] 42-yard field-goal attempt went wide left.

[autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag] recorded another sack on Glenn to force another Seminoles punt. The Irish had to start further back than before this time, and with time running out, they opted to go for it on a fourth-and-10 from the Seminoles 34-yard line after a timeout.

The Seminoles were flagged for having 12 men on the field, and the Irish  picked up a first down when Leonard completed a 22-yard pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag]. Leonard took full advantage by promptly hitting [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] with a 12-yard touchdown.

The Irish are up, 21-3, at halftime. The way the Seminoles have played offense, that looks like a safe lead, but we’ll see.

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Notre Dame Week 9 highlight: Navy fumble scooped by Adon Shuler

Adon Shuler swipes the football for Notre Dame

No. 12 Notre Dame has one of the best defenses in the country — and that defense just took the ball away from an effective offense fielded by No. 24 Navy.

Navy running back Alex Tecza fumbled and Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler took it 28 yards to set the Fighting Irish up with great field position.

Notre Dame capitalized on the turnover a few plays later when quarterback Riley Leonard hit Kris Mitchell with a 6-yard touchdown pass.

The Irish were concerned with Navy’s offense prowess and a trend of slow starts offensively this season, but so far so good for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame's Adon Shuler changes momentum early vs. Texas A&M
Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler participates in a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame Week 8 highlight: Adon Shuler takes it to the house

Notre Dame’s Adon Shuler puts a stamp on it against Georgia Tech

Not to be outdone by teammate Xavier Watts, Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler has an interception against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

In fact, Shuler did Watts one better by returning the errant pass from Yellow Jackets’ quarterback Zach Pyron 36 yards to the end zone for a pick-six.

The touchdown put an exclamation point on the Fighting Irish’s win over the Yellow Jackets. As it stands after the pick, the score is 31-7 late in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame had just missed a field goal as it looked to put Georgia Tech away. The pick-six seems like a nice consolation prize.

Notre Dame's Adon Shuler changes momentum early vs. Texas A&M
Notre Dame safety Adon Shuler participates in a drill during a Notre Dame football practice at Irish Athletic Center on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through four games

Who’s on the board going into the next game?

The great thing about Notre Dame’s dominant win over Miami (Ohio) is that a few more players got a chance to shine. Consequently, we have a few new names popping up in our weekly statistical leaders listicle heading into the game against Louisville. That should force the Cardinals to be a little more aware of the players they’ll be going up against.

This goes without saying, but the Irish always can benefit from new players appearing in these categories. It highlights just how deep the team’s talent is, and anyone can step in at any point. It might take some players longer to crack the leaders lists than others, but that’s the beauty of a regular season that runs through the end of November.

So who are the players standing out the most going into the Irish’s last game before their first bye week? Take a look for yourself here:

Notre Dame Week 1 highlight: Adon Shuler pick changes momentum

Irish safety Adon Shuler with a huge pick

With Notre Dame’s offense operating in fits and starts at the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies and the Fighting Irish needing a spark while trailing 6-3 with 11:15 remaining in the second quarter, sophomore safety [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] had his eyes in the right spot and sat on an overthrown pass for a momentum-shifting interception.

The Aggies had seemed to be feeding off the crowd as their defense had stifled the Irish and pre-snap penalties plagued the Notre Dame D. But Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman overthrew a pass and Shuler just sat in place and made the catch.

The pick ended the Aggies threat and led to Notre Dame getting the tying field goal.

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