Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
The early leaders are in.
Notre Dame will get another chance at its first win of the season when it plays its first home game against Marshall. They should get it done this time, but will they? Either way, here are the players to watch at Notre Dame Stadium this coming weekend?
So close for the Irish
Every game there are plays that aren’t necessarily touchdowns that make big impacts in games. They’re the hidden “big plays” that directly determine the outcome of the game. Here are the five plays that determined the 21-10 win for Ohio State over Notre Dame.
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There is fast and then there is blazing fast and Notre Dame’s latest commitment is the latter.
The thing about watching athletes worthy of Division I scholarships on tape against your average high schoolers is that of course they’re going to stand out. If they didn’t then they almost certainly wouldn’t be seen as the prized recruiting prospects that they are.
Notre Dame landed a commitment from running back [autotag]Dylan Edwards[/autotag] on Saturday, their third commit in the last three days. If you’ve followed his recruiting at all there are probably two things you’re aware of:
That’s at least what has been said about him and Notre Dame has undoubtedly improved their team speed as a whole in recent years by landing players like [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag], [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag], and [autotag]Lorenzo Styles[/autotag].
The most impressive thing in Edwards film isn’t that he runs away from people but by just how much. In watching below don’t just look at him running away from opponents but watch and enjoy just how badly he beats opponents to the angle they’re trying to catch him at.
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What is your overall feeling about Notre Dame’s wide receiver situation five months ahead of the season opener?
The injury bug showed its ugly head again this week at Notre Dame where spring practice continues. Head coach [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] announced Saturday that grad-student [autotag]Joe Wilkins, Jr.[/autotag] is done for the spring after suffering a foot injury earlier in the week.
Freeman stated that Wilkins is expected to be ready to go for the regular season but the injury is another setback for him as he’s coming off an MCL injury last season that kept him out the final two months of the regular season. In his five games played last year Wilkins did pull down four receptions for 61 yards and an impressive touchdown reception against Florida State.
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Currently Notre Dame has grad-students [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag] and [autotag]Matt Salerno[/autotag], sophomores [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag], [autotag]Lorenzo Styles[/autotag], and [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag], as well as walk-on [autotag]Conor Ratigan[/autotag] healthy at receiver. Freshman [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag] did not enroll early and will arrive at Notre Dame in June. Grad-student [autotag]Avery Davis[/autotag] remains sidelined as he’s coming off an ACL injury last November.
The Wilkins news is unfortunate but perhaps the little bit of good news that comes with it is that more reps for talented underclassmen are now available this spring.
Related:
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Looking pretty awesome right now, no?
It would be completely unfair to judge how the Marcus Freeman era is going to go based on one quarter. However, if the first quarter of the Fiesta Bowl is any indication, this is going to be one fun era of Notre Dame football. Naturally, we could have a completely different mood by the end of this game. In the meantime, we gladly will feel good about this 14-7 lead against Oklahoma State.
The first drive for Tommy Rees’ offense under Freeman lasted 99 seconds because that was all it took to reach the end zone. With Kyren Williams having opted out, Rees decided to go with all passes on the drive, and it paid off. On the first two plays, Jack Coan completed passes of 25 yards to Chris Tyree and 15 yards to Kevin Austin. Soon after, Coan found Lorenzo Styles for a 29-yard touchdown.
Despite giving up a first down on its first play, the Irish’s defense promptly settled in. With the Cowboys facing third-and-7, Isaiah Foskey sacked Spencer Sanders for an 11-yard loss to snuff the drive out. The teams then traded three-and-outs before Chris Tyree ended the Irish’s next offensive drive by taking another Coan pass 53 yards to the house on third down. That outcome had looked unlikely considering the Irish had just been penalized for back-to-back false starts.
After that, there was another swap of three-and-outs, and that served as a precursor to the Cowboys finally finding some life on offense. Mixing up runs and passes, they successfully executed a drive that started at their own 18-yard line and ended with Sanders throwing a 9-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Bray.
The touchdown was a message that the Cowboys weren’t going to just roll over in this New Year’s Six bowl. Another one was sent when Brock Martin sacked Coan to force another three-and-out for the Irish. The Cowboys had the ball when the clock hit zero on the quarter, and they would love to get this game tied soon.
On to the next one
The Irish were hoping that it would be a family tie that would lure Sonny Styles to South Bend to join his brother Lorenzo. Unfortunately that was not the case as the 2023 athlete decided to follow in his fathers footsteps and stay in his home state and committed to Ohio State this afternoon.
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It is a big blow for the Irish’s 2023 class, as they were looking to poach yet another Ohio player, with defense end Brenan Vernon already in the fold. There is some silver lining to Styles picking the Buckeyes, it’s that with such an early commitment the Irish will be able to find another player who fits what they’re looking for and not have to scramble to do so.
H O M E. #COMMITTED🌰 pic.twitter.com/xa3fujBa3q
— Alex “Sonny” Styles (@sonnystyles_) November 13, 2021
This one definitely hurts, as many thought that the Irish were leading in Sonny’s recruitment.
Ohio State legacy, Sonny Styles commits to #Buckeyes
Sonny Styles isn’t just the son of former Ohio State football great, Lorenzo Styles but he is a five-star safety recruit who is now committed to also play his college football career in Columbus for the Buckeyes. Styles is largely considered the big fish in the 2023 recruiting class and Ohio State has officially hooked him.
The Buckeyes began their recruitment of Styles when they offered him before the 2020 season and after a long debate between Ohio State and Notre Dame, which is where his brother, Lorenzo Styles Jr. plays, he finally announced his intentions to play with the Buckeyes,
Styles is listed at 6 foot 4 inches and 215 pounds with the frame to gain much more weight and the potentially to see time as soon as he arrives on campus for the Buckeyes.
H O M E. #COMMITTED🌰 pic.twitter.com/xa3fujBa3q
— Alex “Sonny” Styles (@sonnystyles_) November 13, 2021
This game is far from over.
The third quarter featured a lot of what you would expect in a college football game. Through it all, Notre Dame and North Carolina both refused to go away quietly. The good thing about it is the Irish have a 31-27 lead heading into the final frame.
The Tar Heels needed only five plays to open the second-half scoring as Ty Chandler ran 53 yards to give his team its first lead. Not to be outdone, the Irish struck back with an even quicker drive of three plays. Kyren Williams ran for 14, yards, Jack Coan completed a 40-yard pass to Lorenzo Styles, then Coan ran (yes, ran) 21 yards for a touchdown to take the lead right back. It appeared defense was going to be optional this quarter.
The Irish forced a three-and-out on the next possession, but that only was determined after the officials overturned a first down on a review that took far too long for anyone’s liking. The important thing was the Irish got the ball back, and it was another successful drive. Along the way, they lost Williams to injury for the time being, and Coan found Styles again on a 25-yard completion. While it eventually took three plays for the Irish to punch it into the end zone on first-and-goal from the 2-yard line, the touchdown came on a beautiful jump from Logan Diggs.
When the defense returned to the field, J.D. Bertrand was called for roughing the passer, and it proved costly. Sam Howell subsequently completed a couple of passes for solid yardage before hitting Antoine Green for a 33-yard touchdown. It was a reminder that you cannot give this offense a shorter field. The Irish’s offense then went three and out, and Jay Bramblett punted the ball only 33 yards before it went out of bounds to set the Tar Heels up at their own 40.
Howell ran 11 yards for a first down in which he eluded one Irish tackler after another. It looks like he’s ready to prove a lot as this game reaches the fourth quarter. Kyle Hamilton’s is looming larger with each passing minute.
Things still are going all right, at least to a point.
Much like the first quarter, the second quarter was good for Notre Dame but also could have gone a lot better. There should be some greater distance between it and USC, but that’s not how it turned out. Still, the Irish gladly will take a 17-3 lead into halftime.
On the first play of the quarter, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa tipped a Kedon Slovis pass that ended up in the hands of Bo Bauer, who returned it 79 yards to the Trojans’ 4-yard line. A touchdown appeared to be in the books, but Jack Coan was unable to follow two short runs by the Irish with a complete pass, even as he had all the time in the world to throw and run the ball himself. Although Jonathan Doerer salvaged the drive with a 21-yard field goal, the crowd at Notre Dame Stadium voiced that it was not pleased with what it had just witnessed.
With Kyle Hamilton questionable to return after suffering a knee injury late in the first quarter, the Trojans looked to take advantage of his absence. Slovis continually called Drake London’s number, and the Trojans were able to get into the red zone with relative ease, though they were aided by a questionable roughing the passer call against JD Bertrand. With a touchdown in sight, Slovis instead threw a couple of incomplete passes. Parker Lewis kicked a 33-yard field goal to get the Trojans on the board.
Coan began the Irish’s next drive with a 29-yard pass to Lorenzo Styles, putting the offense in Trojans territory right off the bat. Another completion to Styles, a 12-yard run by Kyren Williams, and 16-yard pass to Michael Mayer gave the Irish a first-and-goal in only three minutes of possession. Williams scored on a 5-yard run two plays later, though it took a lengthy replay review to confirm it.
The Trojans moved the ball nicely again on their final drive of the first half. They even converted on fourth down not far across midfield. However, they didn’t have any timeouts by then, and the clock ran out before they were able to spike the ball in field-goal range. Hey, the Irish will take whatever gifts they can get.
Who steps up to fill this hole?
Notre Dame wide receiver Joe Wilkins will miss the remainder of the 2021 season after tearing his MCL in the Fighting Irish loss versus Cincinnati last week.
Wilkins, a junior, had four receptions through Notre Dame’s first five games this year totaling 61 yards. He also recorded a touchdown reception in the season-opening victory at Florida State.
Brian Kelly announced the unfortunate news during his media availability on Thursday.
Joe Wilkins tore his MCL and is out for the year.
— Megan Smedley (@Megan_WNDU) October 7, 2021
With the loss of Wilkins you would assume more playing time is right around the corner for true freshmen Lorenzo Styles and Deion Colzie. Styles recorded his second career reception in the second half of last week’s game, gaining 14 yards and a Notre Dame first down.
Related:
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College football experts make Notre Dame vs. Virginia Tech predictions
Stop overthinking things and start Drew Pyne
Reading between the lines it sure seems like Pyne will start at Virginia Tech
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