Jay Bramblett – Page 4 – Syndication Server

ACC Championship Game: Second-Quarter Analysis

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan.

For the first time this season, Notre Dame needs to seriously reconsider its game plan. If it doesn’t, Clemson could pull away en route to an easy win the ACC Championship Game. Many hoped that the second quarter would be a rebound to a disappointing end to the first. Instead, things got worse, and the Irish trail, 24-3, at halftime.

Deep in Tigers territory, the Irish realized they would have to take chances early if it wanted to take back control. On fourth-and-3, Avery Davis couldn’t hold onto an Ian Book pass that he should have. The Tigers took the ball over, and Trevor Lawrence immediately completed a 21-yard pass to Cornell Powell. He only needed a few more plays to hit E.J. Williams for a 33-yard touchdown.

When Book returned to the field, he had as miserable a time on a football field as he has all season. On what turned out to be the Irish’s only series, he took back-to-back sacks from K.J. Henry and Derion Kendrick. Although Jay Bramblett had a 51-yard punt, it meant little to Lawrence, who led another solid drive and got to the Irish’s 10-yard line. The Notre Dame defense didn’t let him advance the ball any further, and it was happy to only allow a 27-yard field goal from B.T. Potter.

After another offensive drive that stalled out quickly, Bramblett punted it 47 yards to the Clemson 12. With time running out on the half, the Tigers used a series of runs and short passes to at least get into field-goal range before the half. The drive ended with a 44-yard touchdown run by Travis Etienne. It all happened in 1:49, putting the Irish in a deeper halftime hole than they might have anticipated.

Don’t lose faith yet, Irish fans. So many times this season, we’ve seen this team fall down and pick itself back up, making it stronger than it was before. If that holds true now, we’re about to see the best half of football it’s played all year. As the old saying goes, setbacks are setups for comebacks.

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: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

As impossible as it seemed, Notre Dame’s defense neutralized the powerhouse that is North Carolina’s offense.

As impossible as it seemed, Notre Dame’s defense neutralized the powerhouse that is North Carolina’s offense. There’s no other way to describe it when the Tar Heels only scored a field goal over the final three quarters. Now, the Irish have every serious challenge en route to the ACC championship game in the rear-view mirror. But for now, they’ll celebrate their 31-17 win.

Once again, we got a quarter featuring a punting battle between Jay Bramblett and Ben Kiernan. It took a while for the Irish (9-0, 8-0) to get any offense going, but they eventually did when Kyren Williams ran for 47 yards on the first play of their final possession. Ian Book kept giving it to Williams, and that persistence paid off when Williams took it into the end zone from 1 yard out. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels (6-3, 6-3) never got beyond the Irish’s 41-yard line the entire fourth quarter.

Give all of the credit in the world to Clark Lea for preparing his defense for a seemingly insurmountable task. After the first quarter, that unit made the Tar Heels look like a team still figuring things out. If fans didn’t know about that offense’s reputation going in, they never would have known what it’s done this season. That’s how good the 2020 Irish are.

Notre Dame at North Carolina: Second-Quarter Analysis

Perhaps Notre Dame and North Carolina needed some time to take it easy.

Perhaps Notre Dame and North Carolina needed some time to take it easy. Unlike in the first quarter, offense was hard to come by in the second. This time, we saw the defenses shine. Consequently, this game is tied at 17 at halftime.

The frame became a battle of whether Jay Bramblett or Ben Kiernan could punt the ball further. It really doesn’t matter who won that because it didn’t make a difference on the scoreboard. That this even was the story for most of the quarter shows how great the defenses were. We’ll find out in the second half if rumors of an offensive shootout were greatly exaggerated.

Sam Howell barely avoided giving up a safety when Isaiah Foskey sacked him at the North Carolina 1-yard line. That drive ended in a punt. Later, it was Marist Liufau’s turn to wrap up Howell deep in Tar Heels territory. This time, Howell recovered and picked up the first down on the drive, which was followed by a series of passes to set up a 42-yard field goal for Grayson Atkins.

The biggest play of that sequence is a third and 20 that Notre Dame bailed out North Carolina on when Kyle Hamilton’s targeting penalty both extended the Tar Heels drive and got the pre-season All-American ejected for the rest of the afternoon.

Related: Watch the play that got Kyle Hamilton ejected against North Carolina

With over a minute left in the quarter, Ian Book completed three consecutive passes to get into North Carolina territory and also got some help from a pass interference call. He took one unsuccessful shot at the end zone, and the clock dictated there only was enough time for Jonathan Doerer to tie the game with a field goal. He did just that from 32 yards out.

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.

Notre Dame’s five biggest plays from Clemson upset

Lord knows there were a ton of huge plays made by Notre Dame as they upset Clemson on Saturday but here were the five biggest for the Irish.

What a 24 hours it’s been living in the moment of Notre Dame knocking off the No. 1 Clemson Tigers and moving up to the second spot in the nation’s top 25 polls.A ton went right for the Irish on Saturday night in their win and like happens against great teams, a ton went a bit wrong as well.What were the five biggest plays that shifted the showdown into Notre Dame’s favor though?

Let’s go through all of them in chronological order as it started early for Notre Dame.

Pages: 123456

Notre Dame vs. Clemson: Third-Quarter Analysis

Well, we finally have the barn burner we were expecting in South Bend. Is it because Clemson is figuring out Notre Dame’s defense?

Well, we finally have the barn burner we were expecting in South Bend. Is it because Clemson is figuring out Notre Dame’s defense? Perhaps it’s the long time of possession the Tigers had in the third quarter. Whatever the reason, the final 15 minutes of regulation will begin with a 23-all game.

The Tigers took the ball to begin the second half and got far enough down field for B.T. Potter to kick a 46-yard field goal. The Irish promptly went three and out, Jay Bramblett had a short punt, and that began a Clemson possession that lasted nearly six-and-a-half minutes — longer than anyone in gold and blue would have liked. Led by D.J. Uiagalelei, the Tigers used every offensive weapon in their arsenal to pick up a third down, a fourth down and finally, a 10-yard touchdown caught by Davis Allen. The Tigers had scored 13 unanswered to knot it up.

The Irish appeared poised to take the lead right back. Ian Book opened the next drive with a 45-yard pass to Javon McKinley that required a replay review to confirm. Another review had to confirm a much shorter catch by Michael Mayer. Finally, Book was about to run for the touchdown from 7 yards out, only to lose the ball and have Baylon Spector recover it in the end zone for a touchback.

Notre Dame vs. Duke: Second-Quarter Analysis

Well, that’s a little more like it. Though it may not seem so, Notre Dame finally looks something like the team it’s expected to be in 2020.

Well, that’s a little more like it. Though it may not seem so, Notre Dame finally looks something like the team it’s expected to be in 2020. Thanks to a little trickery, the Irish find themselves ahead of Duke at halftime, 10-6.

When it looked like another Irish drive would die early, Jay Bramblett successfully executed a late punt. It woke the offense up, as evidenced by Kyren Williams’ 11-yard run, which was added onto by a face-mask penalty, and a nice catch by Jafar Armstrong, who took it 20 yards to the Duke 2. Williams ran it in for the Irish’s first touchdown of the season one play later.

The defense was picked apart on a drive that Duke got down to the Notre Dame 2. With the Blue Devils threatening to retake the lead on third-and-goal, Isaiah Foskey got to Chase Brice and ultimately was credited with a 10-yard sack after a replay review. Charlie Ham salvaged the drive with a 30-yard field, his second of the game and his career.

On the next drive, the Irish had a chance to extend their lead further after Williams caught an Ian Book pass and ran 75 yards to the Duke 11. But Book made an ill-advised throw into traffic, and Lummie Young IV intercepted it in the end zone for a touchback. Book then threw another interception when he got back on the field, but an offsides penalty wiped it out. The drive continued, and Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal as the clock expired on the first half.