Tag: Kevin Austin

Watch: Notre Dame strikes first as Coan finds Lenzy against Stanford

Irish up early against Stanford

The Irish came out with some intensity on their first two series of the game. Defensively, the unit was flying around the ball and forced Stanford into a very quick 3-and-out.

When the offense got the ball, immediately quarterback Jack Coan was asked to stretch the field and that’s what he did. The senior found Kevin Austin for a 33-yard play that launched a 5-play, 74-yard scoring drive that lasted just 3 minutes. The final play of the drive saw Coan find another one of his wide receivers, Braden Lenzy for this 16-yard strike for the first score of the game and a 7-0 over the host Stanford.

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 vs. Georgia Tech: First-Quarter Analysis

This is going great. Like, really great.

If you’re a betting person, putting money on Notre Dame backups receiving a lot of playing time against Georgia Tech might be a safe move. All indications are that senior day at Notre Dame Stadium will go as well as it possibly could. The only question appears to be how much the Irish will win by. That’s how confident Irish fans should be after watching the first quarter and seeing their team take a 24-0 lead.

This game has gone well from the opening kickoff, which Chris Tyree returned for 51 yards into Yellow Jackets territory. That was immediately followed by Jack Coan completing a 38-yard pass to Kevin Austin, putting the ball at the 10-yard line. However, that was as good as the drive got as Coan took sacks on two of the next three plays. Jonathan Doerer got the Irish on the board when he just barely made a 41-yard field goal that cleared the left upright.

The Yellow Jackets got into Irish territory on their first drive, but that’s when the Irish showed the strength of their defense. About to take a sack from Isaiah Foskey, Jordan Yates opted to get the rid of the ball, which was a big mistake. Jack Kiser was right there to take the interception and return the ball 50 yards for his second touchdown of the season. Sometimes, the sack is the best move.

After the Irish’s defense then forced a three-and-out, the offense went out for its second drive and was able to finish what it started this time. The drive nearly stalled out deep in Yellow Jackets territory, but Coan threw a 9-yard pass to Braden Lenzy on fourth-and-2 to get into the red zone. Two plays later, Kyren Williams ran for a 9-yard touchdown. Already, Williams has made a mark in what could be his final game in South Bend.

The Yellow Jackets managed to pick up a first down on their next drive but nothing more. Back on offense, the Irish converted on a third down to keep the game’s next possession going, and that appeared to be it for the first quarter. Instead, Coan then hit an open Michael Mayer for a 52-yard touchdown. Already, the rout is on.

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Watch: Notre Dame QB Coan finds Austin as Irish take big lead over UVA

Coan throws his 3rd touchdown pass, this one to Kevin Austin

The Irish offense had gone quiet for the majority of the third quarter, but after Virginia went for it on 4th-down and didn’t complete the attempt, it was game on. The Irish marched down the field in under 2-and-a-half minutes, on just 5 plays that spanned 61-yards to add to their lead.

It was big play after big play, first a trick play to wide receiver Braden Lenzy for 31-yards. Then quarterback Jack Coan found tight end Michael Mayer for 11-yards. After two short runs on third down, Coan found wide receiver Kevin Austin in the back of the end zone to extend their lead over Virginia 28-0.

Tale of the Tape: Top Receivers – Kevin Austin vs. Dontayvion Wicks

There’s a changing of the guard for the Irish.

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Heading into its game against Virginia, Notre Dame has an actual receiver as its leading receiver for the first time this season. Kevin Austin passed tight end Michael Mayer for that distinction against Navy with a 70-yard touchdown reception. It still is not a very high number for a top receiver on a major college team. However, it finally is nice to have a little parity somewhere on the offense.

The Cavaliers’ top receiver is Dontayvion Wicks, and he’ll easily reach 1,000 yards for the season Saturday barring a complete shutdown by the Irish’s secondary. That won’t be likely if Brennan Armstrong is able to overcome his ribs injury and start. If that’s not the case, many will wonder how well Jay Woolfolk can find Wicks when he has opportunities to do what he does best. This remains a fluid situation, and we won’t have an answer until we know the Cavaliers’ quarterback situation.

Watch: Notre Dame QB Coan finds Austin for long TD against Navy

Kevin Austin has wheels!!!

The Irish seemed like they were happy running out the clock and taking a 10-3 lead heading into the half. With under two-minutes remaining, the Irish started their drive at their own 5-yard line. Back-to-back runs by Kyren Williams that went for 22-yards got the Irish out from behind the shadows of their end zone.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees decided it was time to open up the offense a bit and throw the ball. Quarterback Jack Coan had just watched Tyler Buchner engineer a scoring drive and he needed show that he wasn’t the only quarterback that could get the Irish in the end zone. Coan found a streaking Kevin Austin down the left sidelines and 70-yards later, the Irish extended their lead 17-3 over Navy.

Notre Dame vs. Navy: Second-Quarter Analysis

That’s more like it.

We might have more of a clear picture of how this game between Notre Dame and Navy will go. The Irish came in as the favorite, though they didn’t start like it. However, the talent discrepancy between them and the Midshipmen finally began to show itself. That means the Irish have a 17-3 halftime lead.

After stopping the Midshipmen on their first possession of the second quarter, the Irish showed more signs of life on offense. There was a Kyren Williams run here, a Michael Mayer gain there, and they set up a 38-yard pass from Jack Coan to Kevin Austin, which put the Irish at the Navy 11-yard line. An illegal block from Braden Lenzy set things back and might have cost the Irish a touchdown as they only got as far as the 6 after that. Jonathan Doerer tied the game on a 24-yard field goal.

The Irish then forced another three-and-out, which paved the way for a run-heavy drive mainly led by Tyler Buchner. Williams, Buchner and Logan Diggs pushed through on the ground before reaching the red zone. An 11-yard pass from Buchner to Austin was the first sign that this drive would end more successfully than the last one because that placed the ball at the 1. After that, Williams only needed one play to score the game’s first touchdown after that.

The Midshipmen once again failed to pick up a first down on the next possession, but they may have lost more than a chance to chip away at the deficit. Tai Lavatai suffered an injury on the field and was helped back to the locker room. Xavier Arline took over at quarterback for one play, but we’ll see if he’ll be needed for more in the second half. A 65-yard punt from Riley Riethman down the ball at the Irish’s 5.

All the Midshipmen had to do with time running out in the half was hold the Irish to their own side of the field, and they could go into the break down by only a score. It almost worked, but on third down, Coan found Austin for a 70-yard touchdown on his longest pass of the season. Slowly but surely, things have come up Irish.

The five plays that loomed large in Notre Dame’s win over North Carolina

Which plays do you think turned the tide for the Irish?

The game played out like many of us thought it would, a high scoring affair with the Irish coming out on top at the end of the game. There were plenty of big plays that happened on Saturday night and here the five that loomed large for Notre Dame in their 44-34 victory over North Carolina.

Notre Dame vs. North Carolina: Second-Quarter Analysis

That was an action-packed first half.

Notre Dame had to know it was facing a North Carolina team that has been struggling. We don’t know how much that went into the preparation for this game. What we do know is that in spite of recent trends, we’re seeing signs of why the Tar Heels were hyped up as an ACC contender coming into the season. Still, the Irish hold a 17-13 lead at halftime.

The Tar Heels picked up where they left off in the first quarter as Ty Chandler scored a 3-yard touchdown to tie game on the first play of the second. The tie didn’t last as Jack Coan hit Avery Davis for gains of 10 and 20 yards, respectively, on the next drive to get to midfield. The Irish mostly focused on runs from there and were able to get to the 13-yard line. After Coan was forced to throw away a third-down pass, Jonathan Doerer kicked a 31-yard field goal to put the Irish back in front.

The Tar Heels moved the ball almost at will on their next drive, but they were helped by a couple missed tackles from the Irish. When Josh Downs received a 31-yard pass from Sam Howell, it was first-and-goal. On that series, the Tar Heels were hurt by a holding call. Then, Isaiah Foskey and Jayson Ademilola sacked Howell on third down, forcing Grayson Atkins to kick a 38-yard field goal to salvage the drive and knot things up again.

Coan and Michael Mayer put the Irish in position to score again when they connected on a 30-yard completion to get into Tar Heels territory. Faced with a fourth-and-2 at the 35, the Irish opted to go for it. The subsequent pass fell incomplete, but a face-mask penalty kept the drive going. Coan made the Tar Heels pay when he immediately found Kevin Austin in the end zone for a 21-yard touchdown.

Ja’Qurious Conley set the Tar Heels up nicely when he returned the ensuing kick 40 yards. Three straight solid runs by D.J. Jones continued to make conditions favorable for a Tar Heels score. Another Howell-to-Downs connection placed the ball in the red zone. With only seven seconds left and the Tar Heels getting possession to start the second half, they opted to take the points on a 26-yard field goal from Atkins, which gives us our halftime score.