Tag: Jude Kelley

Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech: Second-Quarter Analysis

We have another half of this, folks.

We’re only at halftime, and we’re already running out of ways to describe Notre Dame’s dominance over Georgia Tech. That we have 30 more minutes of this contest to go won’t convince college football fans who don’t root for the Irish to keep it on. As much as NBC would love to have a high viewership throughout its final Irish broadcast of the season, that appears unlikely now. Still, it’s nice to see the Irish have a 45-0 lead at the midway point of the game.

The Yellow Jackets punted very early in the second quarter, and it only continued to get bad for them from there. The Irish breezed down the field on their first possession of the frame and ultimately got a 5-yard touchdown run from Logan Diggs. After another Yellow Jackets punt, Diggs scored again. This one came on a 20-yard pass from Jack Coan on the fourth play of the drive. He was set up nicely thanks to a 26-yard run by Kyren Williams.

The Yellow Jackets then put together something resembling a respectable offensive drive, picking up two first downs and getting into Irish territory. All this resulted in was another punt. Yes, it was that kind of first half for the visitors.

The Irish started their next drive on the 11-yard line, but Coan solved that quickly with a 51-yard pass to Kevin Austin. He soon followed those with an 18-yard completion to Michael Mayer and a 19-yard completion to George Takacs to get to the 1-yard line. While it took three plays to reach the end zone from there, Williams did it. That put a stamp on the frame and gave the Irish their most first-half points since their game against Miami (Ohio) in 2017.

The Yellow Jackets moved quickly in their final drive of the half. They even got into field-goal range this time. With this stroke of good fortune, Jude Kelley came on for a 47-yard attempt in the final seconds. Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa preserved the first-half shutout by getting a hand on the kick and causing Kelley to miss. Some things just will stay the same for now.

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Notre Dame at Georgia Tech: Third-Quarter Analysis

It took a quarter longer than it should have, but Notre Dame finally has Georgia Tech on the ropes.

It took a quarter longer than it should have, but Notre Dame finally has Georgia Tech on the ropes. Some quality play on both sides of the ball puts the Irish within striking distance of keeping their perfect record heading into Clemson. While the college football world was reacting to the news of Trevor Lawrence being out for that game, the Irish were building a 24-7 lead that last through the end of the third quarter.

The Yellow Jackets threatened to close the gap after a 39-yard completion from Jeff Sims to Jalen Camp put the ball on the Irish’s 22-yard line. That hope was snuffed out on the next play when Daelin Hayes IV strip-sacked Sims, and Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa recovered the ball. Though the subsequent drive was defined by the run once again, the big blow was Ian Book’s 31-yard completion to Javon McKinley that put the Irish in the red zone. Kyren Williams took the ball for the next two plays because that’s all he needed, scoring a touchdown from 4 yards out on the latter of those plays.

The Irish suffered a loss for this game and next week when Marist Liafau was disqualified was ejected for targeting. He will miss the first half of the Clemson game as a result. Jude Kelley badly missed a field goal for the Yellow Jackets on the same drive, so no harm was done, at least in the short-term.