Tag: Trent Schneider

Notre Dame vs. USF: Third-Quarter Analysis

Things have cooled off a little in South Bend. The third quarter didn’t feature nearly as much action as the entire first half.

Things have cooled off a little in South Bend. The third quarter didn’t feature nearly as much action as the entire first half. Still, Notre Dame added onto its lead to take a 45-0 lead over USF going into the final frame, and Drew Pyne will take over for Ian Book during that time.

USF took the ball to begin the second half and looked more like a college football offense. The Bulls converted on third and fourth downs during a drive that got them to the Notre Dame 36-yard line. Despite the improvement, the drive ended when Clarence Lewis broke up a fourth-down pass from Jordan McCloud he probably should have held onto for an interception. The flip side was it gave the Irish better field position for the possession that led to a 22-yard Jonathan Doerer field goal.

The Notre Dame offense continued to look good. A 27-yard pass from Book to Tommy Tremble initially was ruled incomplete, but a replay review gave Tremble the reception and, ultimately, Doerer a chip shot. While it was disappointing not to score a touchdown, it still was something.

Though the offense didn’t reach the end zone in the quarter, special teams did. USF had its second bad long snap on a punt attempt during the game. This time, Trent Schneider didn’t have time to pick the ball up. Osita Ekwonu blocked it towards the USF end zone, where freshman Jordan Botelho recovered it for the score. Botelho, a Honolulu native, weighs in at 6-foot-2 and 248 pounds, so add that play to your “big man scores” playlist.

 

Notre Dame vs. USF: Second-Quarter Analysis

It’s become clear that Notre Dame could have run out onto the field blindfolded against USF, and it wouldn’t have mattered.

It’s become clear that Notre Dame could have run out onto the field blindfolded against USF, and it wouldn’t have mattered. The Irish dominated the second quarter on both sides of the ball. They’ve shown no signs of letting up as they take a 35-0 lead into halftime. The only misstep was Jonathan Doerer’s missed 38-yard field-goal attempt.

On the second play of the second quarter, Ian Book finished off what had a been another nice drive for Notre Dame by scoring his second rushing touchdown of the day and the Irish’s second from the 1-yard line on the day. When the offense had the ball next, it only did so for less than two minutes thanks to another short field that culminated in a 26-yard touchdown run from C’Bo Flemister. Even the drive that ended in the missed field goal began with Chris Tyree running for 31 yards.

The defense kept USF from gaining a single first down the entire quarter. To add insult to injury, there was a bad long snap on Trent Schneider’s fourth punt attempt of the game, and Schneider was just barely able to get the ball out of the end zone before he was tackled. The ball only got to the Bulls; 21, ultimately setting up Book’s third rushing touchdown and second from only 1 yard out. Talk about the completely opposite directions this game is going in for the two teams.