Tag: Jack Kiser

Watch: Drew White get’s another pick-6 for Notre Dame against Wisconsin

It’s a pick-6 party for the Irish!!!

Oh hey Jack Kiser, this is Drew White, I saw your house call and wanted to make one of my own. As the Badgers scrambled to try and come back against Notre Dame, they were forced to go through the air and it wasn’t such a good idea.

Jack Kiser just returned an interception for a touchdown and then it was White’s turn to do the same. The tip drill resulted in White picking off yet another Graham Mertz pass, this fourth of the day, and with a convoy of defenders turned blockers, White like Kiser, found the endzone to put an exclamation point on the huge win against Wisconsin.

Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

That was a fun final 15 minutes.

It didn’t always look easy. In fact, it looked downright scary a lot of the time. However, you never can argue with what the scoreboard says when you’re ahead and the clock hits zero. That’s Notre Dame after its 41-13 win over Wisconsin in its Shamrock Series game at Soldier Field. As an added bonus, it allowed Brian Kelly to surpass Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in program history with 106 victories and get a pair of Gatorade baths for the accomplishment.

The fourth quarter began with the Badgers (1-2) threatening to reach the end zone, but the defense that could become more valuable for the Irish (4-0) as the season goes on was able to hold them to a 27-yard field goal from Collin Larsh. That 13-10 Badgers lead lasted all of one play as Chris Tyree returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time the Irish had scored on a kick return since 2016. Suddenly, the Badgers fans who were dancing to “Jump Around” a few minutes earlier weren’t feeling so hot.

The Badgers faced a third down on their next drive. The play that followed resulted in Jayson Ademilola forcing a Graham Mertz fumble on a sack and Isaiah Foskey recovering it. With Jack Coan still on the bench, Drew Pyne completed a 22-yard pass to Michael Mayer to set up the Irish in the red zone. Two plays later, Pyne hit Kevin Austin for a 16-yard touchdown that only could be described as a backbreaker. It was Austin’s second touchdown of the game.

Desperately needing a score, the Badgers advanced to the Irish’s 34-yard line. When the drive stalled out there, Larsh attempted a 52-yard field goal that sailed left. Hope remained alive for the Badgers after the Irish went three-and-out, but Cam Hart quickly picked off Mertz for his second interception of the game. The offense didn’t get far, not that it really needed to at that point, but Jonathan Doerer kicked a 37-yard field goal anyway.

Even with the outcome decided, the Irish’s defense decided it wasn’t done scoring. Jack Kiser came out of nowhere and returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown. That somehow still wasn’t enough for the unit to make its statement. Drew White returned his own interception to the end zone from 45 yards out.

The Irish stomped on the Badgers, then stomped on them again. That’s quite the good feeling, isn’t it? What dominance at the end.

Watch: Jack Kiser’s pick-6 seals the deal for Notre Dame over Wisconsin

Pick-6!!!!

The defense came up big with the third-string quarterback Drew Pyne having to lead the team in the second half. Not only did Cam Hart get two picks in this contest against Wisconsin, but Jack Kiser got into the action as well.

The linebacker intercepted a pass from Badger quarterback Graham Mertz and took it back 69-yards to the house for a score. It extended the Irish’s lead over Wisconsin 34-13 and put a dagger in the potential comeback for the Badgers. It was another huge play for Notre Dame at the right moment and it pretty much sealed the deal for Notre Dame.

Notre Dame spring game: Five questions that could be answered

Who steps up this afternoon?

The final taste of football is upon us, this weekend is the culmination of Notre Dame’s spring practice ending with the Blue and Gold game.

Heading into the season, there will be plenty of question surrounding the program, the biggest is undoubtably the quarterback position. Find out five question that could be answered during Saturday’s controlled scrimmage.

Source: Marcus Freeman Will Be Notre Dame’s New Defensive Coordinator

When you’re a top college football program battling with another for a certain coach, the nerves can rise.

When you’re a top college football program battling with another for a certain coach, the nerves can rise. It certainly looked like Cincinnati defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame’s top choice for the same role, was headed to LSU, according to a report from FootballScoop. Heck, this story was going to be about just that. But that’s all out the window because multiple outlets say sources have good news for Irish fans instead:

The Irish, of course, are coming off a season in which Clark Lea made the defense as strong as its ever been. But like Lea, several names will not be back, so it will be up to Freeman to get the most out of players who have not gotten the chance to shine yet. At the same time, he’ll have a nice group of returnees, including Kyle Hamilton, Isaiah Foskey, Clarence Lewis, Bo Bauer and Jack Kiser.

Welcome to South Bend, Marcus. You have a tough act to follow, but Brian Kelly obviously has faith in you. Go get ’em.

 

Grading Notre Dame’s positional groups for the 2020 season

Letter grades for Notre Dame football during their 2020 season, which saw them go undefeated in regular season play, only to lose their final two games.

The season has now ended and we can start to look back on what was a very odd 2020 season of college football. Two of 247Sports analysts Brad Crawford and Bud Elliott, broke down each team in the ACC and gave out grades for their performances.

Both, Crawford and Elliott gave the Irish A’s for the 2020 season, but I wanted to dig a bit deeper and give grades out for each position group and coaching. So here it is, my grades for each Notre Dame unit from this past season.

Notre Dame at Boston College: Third-Quarter Analysis

There were moments in the third quarter when it seemed Notre Dame might start bending.

There were moments in the third quarter when it seemed Notre Dame might start bending. But for almost every play like that, there was one that showed Boston College which team was in charge. Even if you didn’t see any of those, all you have to do is look at that 38-23 Irish lead after three quarters.

Phil Jurkovec began the second half by leading what looked to be a productive drive for the Eagles, primarily because of his arm. Though he got his offense to the Notre Dame 9-yard line, it was stuffed on fourth-and-1. The Irish’s offense also looked poised to drive the field for its first possession of the half. Ben Skowronek’s 31-yard reception nearly made that the case, but Josh DeBerry forced a fumble that was recovered by Max Richardson. Not to worry because Jack Kiser promptly picked Jurkovec off and gave his team great field position.

C’Bo Flemister made it his mission on this drive to really make his mark on this game, although he had one score already. He caught an Ian Book pass that he took for 27 yards all the way to the Boston College 1. It only made sense for Book to give the ball right back to him and finish what he started, which he did for his second touchdown.

You can’t count the Eagles out yet, though. Jurkovec led a drive that nearly ended prematurely on a interception, but he got right back to it when that pick was wiped out by a face-mask penalty. This time, he mixed up the run and pass a lot more, and it worked. David Bailey ran for a 3-yard touchdown, so the pressure on the Irish to finish remains.

Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Positional breakdown advantages

A breakdown of each position for Notre Dame and Clemson and who has the advantage.

This is the game of the year in the ACC, if not all college football, at least in the regular season. No. 1 Clemson travels to South Bend to take on No. 4 Notre Dame. This highly anticipated game will feature a number of future NFL stars.

A look at each position and which team has the advantage in Saturday’s huge contest.

Don’t forget to take a look at each of our tales of the tape as well (wide receivers, running backs, and quarterbacks)

(Some photo’s courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)

Notre Dame notes: Kelly’s Monday presser focuses on red zone, travel, and more

The highlights of Brian Kelly’s Monday meeting with the press include red zone issues, wide receiver rotation, Jahmir Smith leaving and more.

The Irish have been in a unique situation this season, they have yet to hit the road for a game this season. When their trip to Wake Forest was reschedule due to a rash of Irish football team members testing positive for COVID-19, the schedule just worked out that way. Well, Kelly addressed his team traveling to Pittsburgh this weekend, the issues in the red zone, a player leaving the program and more in his regularly scheduled Monday afternoon press conference. Here are some of the big topics Kelly touched on today.

-The red zone offense needs to be better as Kelly said “we’ve got to be better in that area moving forward.” That’s a huge understatement.

-Going to Pitt this weekend will be treated like a home game on Friday. The team will be very careful during their travels, no team meals, eating at Heinz Field concourses and Kelly wants to “create an atmosphere where we can control it the best we can.”

-Kelly might have pinpointed some issues with the wide receivers because “it has been a revolving door” at the position. With new faces and others working back from injuries, the Irish head coach thinks they may have pushed them too hard in practice. It’s obviously a “work in progress” as he stated.

-Kelly pointed out three players (Isaiah Foskey, Jack Kiser and Joe Wilkins) that need to play more. After Saturday’s win against Louisville, he had notes that said “how do we get them involved more.”

-Running back Jahmir Smith has left the team, Kelly said “he’s decided at this time he is not going to be playing football.”

-Kurt Hinish has been great this year and Kelly attributed it to a few factors, but mainly his high football IQ. “He (Hinish) knows what they’re (the offense) is trying to do scheme wise.”

-On the offense’s strengths and weakness, Kelly said “right now we’re so much better running it than throwing it. I want people to respect our ability to throw it.” The offense will keep at it, “we’re going to push the ball vertically down the field, we’re going to have to be better at it.” He knows there are some issues in “attacking defenses down the field in our passing game, were not there yet. We have to get going.”

-On Pitt’s defense: “game wreckers on defense, they’ll play physical and they’re well coached.”

Notre Dame to be without two defensive players vs. Florida State

Notre Dame’s defense will be down a couple of players when they take on Florida State this Saturday night.

What feels like a lifetime ago at this point, Notre Dame improved to 2-0 on the season with a dominating 52-0 win over South Florida way back on September 19.

That day it was linebacker Jack Kiser, getting informed the morning of the game that he’d be starting, that walked away with Brian Kelly’s game ball honors.

Unfortunately Notre Dame will be without Kiser when Florida State comes to town Saturday night, nor will stellar defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa.

Kiser was an emergency starter for Notre Dame in that South Florida game and played great, recording eight tackles, two of which for loss.  Shayne Simon and Marist Liufau are set to return to their regular roles atop the depth chart at Buck linebacker.

Tagovailoa-Amosa being out is a hit to the first string however as he was off to a solid start with five tackles through the first two games, including two for a loss.

Expect to see more of Jayson Ademilola and Howard Cross, III in Tagovailoa-Amosa’s absence.