Tag: Javon McKinley

Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: Second-Quarter Analysis

When Clark Lea stepped off the Notre Dame bus Saturday, he probably didn’t expect Syracuse to present such a challenge to his defense.

When Clark Lea stepped off the Notre Dame bus Saturday, he probably didn’t expect Syracuse to present such a challenge to his defense. In the first half, we saw that at times. A victory that appeared to be such a foregone conclusion didn’t seem like it midway through the second quarter. Then, the Irish woke up, and they now hold a 24-7 halftime lead.

The Orange started their first drive of the second quarter at their own 38-yard line and executed it to perfection. Rather than go for it all on one big play, they successfully relied on a series of runs and short passes. It paid off when Rex Culpepper connected with Anthony Queeley for an 18-yard touchdown to give their team the lead. Dino Babers said that this is his team’s title game, and that’s how it’s played for the most part.

For most of the second quarter, the Irish’s offense continued to have trouble getting anything going. On one drive, they got into Orange territory and appeared to pick up a fourth down, but Michael Mayer’s momentum carried him back behind the marker, and the Irish turned it over on downs. Everyone was waiting for anything to happen to get this unit going.

The Orange inadvertently provided a spark for the Irish when they appeared to force a three-and-out, but Kingsley Jonathan was flagged for roughing the passer. Ian Book made Jonathan pay for his mistake with a couple of first-down completions to Tommy Tremble and Javon McKinley. He put a stamp on the drive with a 28-yard touchdown run to put the Irish back in front. That’s what happens when you give a team like this second chances.

After that, the Irish we’ve come to know finally showed up. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa sacked Culpepper and forced a fumble that was recovered by Marist Liufau. It took forever for the replay booth to confirm that, but it finally happened. Speaking of things finally happening, McKinley, the Irish’s leading receiver, scored his first touchdown of the season on a 21-yard pass from Book on the first play of the drive.

With time running out in the half, the Orange gave the Irish another opportunity when Cooper Lutz ran into Matt Salerno after Salerno had called for a fair catch on a punt. The Irish took advantage of this latest in a series of Syracuse mistakes by putting together a drive in which they marched down the field as quickly as any offense in college football is capable of. Book’s 21-yard pass to Ben Skowronek put the Irish in field-goal range, but Book decided that wasn’t enough, and he hit McKinley for a 28-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left. All of that took 32 seconds, and the Irish went into the locker room feeling much more confident about their chances of a blowout win.

Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: First-Quarter Analysis

Notre Dame has not gotten off to the hot start against Syracuse that many expected.

Notre Dame has not gotten off to the hot start against Syracuse that many expected. In fact, the Orange have entered Notre Dame Stadium with a full intention to compete. There’s a lot of game left to determine whether that will hold up. For now, the Irish will have to be content with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter.

The Irish took the ball first and put together a nice drive highlighted by lengthy receptions from Avery Davis and Ben Skowronek. They got to the Orange’s 7-yard line, but Ian Book’s two shots at the end zone to Kyren Williams and Javon McKinley were unsuccessful. Jonathan Doerer had to salvage the opening drive with a 25-yard field goal. Success in the red zone remains an issue for the Irish as it has for a while.

When the Irish’s defense came out, they were met by an Orange offense that worked to make things happen quickly. In fact, it barely had to break a sweat getting into Irish territory. Fortunately, the defense kept it from getting beyond the 41-yard line. A early disappointment was dodged.

The teams then traded possessions that ended in punts. No matter what happens, the Orange seem bent on beating the spread at worst as they reached Irish territory again. We won’t be able to speculate if they can pull off the upset until they make a play that really turns some heads. So far, we have yet to see that.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Receivers – Javon McKinley vs. Taj Harris

Syracuse is the best opponent yet for Notre Dame’s leading receiver to get his first touchdown of the season.

Syracuse is the best opponent yet for Notre Dame’s leading receiver to get his first touchdown of the season. Though Ian Book is a proven winner, he has yet to throw a scoring pass to Javon McKinley in 2020. Based on McKinley’s receiving yards a catch, his best chance to find the end zone might come if the Irish are inside the red zone. He might want to get that monkey off his back before the stakes get higher after this game.

The Orange have a quality top receiver in Taj Harris. In fact, he’s been one of the few bright spots on an offense that has not been able to accomplish much this season. He will need to be one of, if not the only primary factor if the Orange are going to shock the world. At the same time, the Irish will know who to focus on to try and make that putrid unit even worse than usual, which might not even be that difficult.

5 Stars, the best and worst of Notre Dames 31-17 win against UNC

The best and worst performances from Notre Dame in their win over North Carolina.

It sure wasn’t pretty for the Irish, but we knew that North Carolina would be up to the challenge and present a tough challenge. There was obviously some rust from having a bye week, but once the Irish shook that off, they were able to take control of the game in the second half. Notre Dame earned a tough 31-17 win against the Tar Heels. Here are the best, 5 star, and worst, 1 star, performances for the Irish today.

Notre Dame at North Carolina: First-Quarter Analysis

North Carolina’s offense poses a legitimate threat to the fate of Notre Dame’s season.

North Carolina’s offense poses a legitimate threat to the fate of Notre Dame’s season. As we learned early in the first quarter, you need to make the Tar Heels drive further than midfield if you’re going to win. But even doing that might not be enough. At least the Irish find themselves in a 14-all tie.

Notre Dame got the ball first and went three and out. After Ian Book was sacked by Chazz Surratt on third down, Jay Bramblett was forced to punt in the Irish’s end zone and only could get the ball to the 50-yard line. Led by Sam Howell, the Tar Heels advanced in Irish territory with relative ease. The drive ended when Emery Simmons caught a 50-50 ball for the game’s first touchdown.

Fortunately, the Irish have a strong ground game, and they decided to unleash it on their second drive. Most of the time, Kyren Williams’ number was called, and there also were some nice runs from Book and Chris Tyree. Still, it only made sense for Williams to tie the game on a 2-yard run.

None of that mattered to the Tar Heels because they went right back to work. Even when a holding call in shallow Irish territory appeared to set them back, Howell immediately overcame that with a 51-yard pass to Dyami Brown that got the ball to the 1-yard line. Howell then took the ball in for a 1-yard touchdown run.

Book had something to say about that, though. He found Javon McKinley for a 43-yard reception and then ran the ball himself for 33 yards. He handed the ball off to Williams, then passed to him. The result was a 4-yard touchdown reception that put the score where it is.

 

Let’s get wild, game 9! Crazy predictions for Notre Dame vs. UNC

An educated guess at some big performances for Notre Dame players against North Carolina this afternoon.

Bye weeks are the worst, making all of us wait just a bit longer to see the Irish hit the field again. Well, that day is finally here, one day earlier than normal. The Irish don’t have the easiest task ahead, North Carolina presents many challenges but after a bye week, Notre Dame should be rested and ready. Here are a few, crazy, but realistic predictions for Notre Dame today against the Tar Heels.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Recivers – Javon McKinley vs. Dyami Brown

When Notre Dame plays North Carolina, Javon McKinley will have to figure out a way to step it up.

When Notre Dame plays North Carolina, Javon McKinley will have to figure out a way to step it up. As much of a leader as he’s been for the Irish’s receiving corps, his primary purpose has been to get the Irish downfield so that others can score. Why else would he not have found the end zone by now? However, this particular game really might require him to take his game to a level not seen this season.

The reason McKinley needs to be so excellent is he’s facing a formidable counterpart in the Tar Heels’ Dyami Brown. Though McKinley merely would be watching Brown on the sidelines regardless of ability and production, he would be watching a player who is living proof that the offense in Chapel Hill is as good as anyone’s in the country. What other reason would you need to explain a receiver literally averaging a touchdown a game and just over twice the receiving yards of McKinley? There is none, and the Irish’s defense, especially the secondary, better figure something out to contain him.

Notre Dame at Boston College: Second-Quarter Analysis

It took a little longer than anyone would have like, but Notre Dame slowly is finding its rhythm against Boston College.

It took a little longer than anyone would have like, but Notre Dame slowly is finding its rhythm against Boston College. Of course, no Irish fan truly will rest until those 1993 demons have been vanquished. For now, they’ll be happy that their team has a 31-16 lead going into halftime.

Phil Jurkovec continues to be on a mission, as evidenced by a 34-yard completion to Jaelen Gill in which he barely avoided taking a sack on third-and-15. Two plays later, he took the ball himself for a 17-yard gain. The Irish’s defense locked down after that, but Aaron Boumerhi kicked a 31-yard field to break a 10-10 tie. The Eagles then tried to really seize momentum with an onside kick and nearly were successful but for a block that took place before Isaiah Pryor was able to touch the ball.

Given new life, the Irish’s offense made the most of it. Ian Book had a 20-yard run, then completed a 48-yard pass to Avery Davis from midfield. C’Bo Flemister only needed 2 yards to put the Irish back ahead with a touchdown. Near-disaster had turned into great fortune.

After the Irish’s defense forced a three-and-out, a fair-catch interference allowed the offense to begin its next possession at midfield. Book went right back to work, finding Javon McKinley twice for first downs. He then gave Ben Skowrenek his second touchdown of the game from 13 yards out. That made it clear that the Irish were intent on pouncing on anything that would give them an extra opportunity or advantage.

The Eagles weren’t ready to go into the locker room quietly, however. Jurkovec found Gill for a 40-yard completion on the following possession to set up a 35-yard field goal on Boumerhi. They then looked poised to get even closer after Chibueze Onwuka forced a Kyren Williams fumble that Isaiah McDuffie recovered. But that chance was wiped out when their own fumble was recovered by Daelin Hayes.

Out of that, Book was able to guide one final drive to end the second quarter. He mainly kept it on the ground with the longest play being a 16-yard run he executed himself to set up first-and-goal with time almost gone. After spiking the ball, he found Skowronek again, and the receiver completed the hat trick with a 4-yard touchdown catch.

Talk about a tale of two halves of a quarter.

Notre Dame at Boston College: Second-Quarter Analysis

It took a little longer than anyone would have like, but Notre Dame slowly is finding its rhythm against Boston College.

It took a little longer than anyone would have like, but Notre Dame slowly is finding its rhythm against Boston College. Of course, no Irish fan truly will rest until those 1993 demons have been vanquished. For now, they’ll be happy that their team has a 31-16 lead going into halftime.

Phil Jurkovec continues to be on a mission, as evidenced by a 34-yard completion to Jaelen Gill in which he barely avoided taking a sack on third-and-15. Two plays later, he took the ball himself for a 17-yard gain. The Irish’s defense locked down after that, but Aaron Boumerhi kicked a 31-yard field to break a 10-10 tie. The Eagles then tried to really seize momentum with an onside kick and nearly were successful but for a block that took place before Isaiah Pryor was able to touch the ball.

Given new life, the Irish’s offense made the most of it. Ian Book had a 20-yard run, then completed a 48-yard pass to Avery Davis from midfield. C’Bo Flemister only needed 2 yards to put the Irish back ahead with a touchdown. Near-disaster had turned into great fortune.

After the Irish’s defense forced a three-and-out, a fair-catch interference allowed the offense to begin its next possession at midfield. Book went right back to work, finding Javon McKinley twice for first downs. He then gave Ben Skowrenek his second touchdown of the game from 13 yards out. That made it clear that the Irish were intent on pouncing on anything that would give them an extra opportunity or advantage.

The Eagles weren’t ready to go into the locker room quietly, however. Jurkovec found Gill for a 40-yard completion on the following possession to set up a 35-yard field goal on Boumerhi. They then looked poised to get even closer after Chibueze Onwuka forced a Kyren Williams fumble that Isaiah McDuffie recovered. But that chance was wiped out when their own fumble was recovered by Daelin Hayes.

Out of that, Book was able to guide one final drive to end the second quarter. He mainly kept it on the ground with the longest play being a 16-yard run he executed himself to set up first-and-goal with time almost gone. After spiking the ball, he found Skowronek again, and the receiver completed the hat trick with a 4-yard touchdown catch.

Talk about a tale of two halves of a quarter.

Tale of the Tape: Leading Receivers – Javon McKinley vs. Zay Flowers

It’s still almost inconceivable that Notre Dame’s top receiver going into the Boston College game has yet to score this season.

It’s still almost inconceivable that Notre Dame’s top receiver going into the Boston College game has yet to score this season. However, that’s exactly where Javon McKinley finds himself. It’s not really his fault as the Irish don’t have a dominant player at the position this season, and he earns his credibility by averaging only a little below 20 yards a catch. He still has a few games to get to the end zone, but you have to wonder where his patience is with that.

The Eagles have no issues with getting points from their receivers because they have Zay Flowers. Plus, Flowers has exactly twice the number of receptions McKinley does. There’s no question Phil Jurkovec will look to him frequently, and the chances he scores at least one touchdown are high. The Irish will have to limit his opportunities, and no matter how well they play defense, that might not be easy.