Notre Dame survives scare from BYU 17-14; 7-0 heading to Oklahoma
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
NOTRE DAME, Ind. ” It wasn’t easy, but the Irish will gladly take their hard-fought 17-14 win over feisty BYU in Notre Dame Stadium.
The victory improves No. 5 Notre Dame’s record to 7-0 on the season and sets up a huge showdown next Saturday with 10th-ranked Oklahoma in Norman.
“Their team played hard and physical and they had a couple more plays than our program today,” BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said. “They continue to do just what they need to do in keeping their undefeated season going, and I think they are a good football team and well-coached.”
The close call offered a reminder that everyone will give the Irish their best shot.It’s not easy to win, especially when you’re Notre Dame, Irish linebacker Manti Te’o said. As the season progresses, teams kind of forget the little things and forget what got them there and I think our coaching staff does a great job in reminding us that, hey, this is what you did to be here and this exactly what we’ve got to do.
What Notre Dame had to do was play its usual stout defense and get some production somehow, someway on offense.
That production came from running backs Theo Riddick and Cierre Wood, who both topped the 100-yard mark, marking the second time this season Notre Dame has had a pair of backs top the century mark in the same game.
Riddick ran possessed all day en route to a career-high 143 yards rushing. He had a stellar 55-yard third quarter run where he was tripped up at the line of scrimmage, somehow maintained his balance and burst through a mass of bodies before being caught from behind deep in BYU territory.
Irish coach Brian Kelly praised Riddick’s effort, which was definitely worthy of being one of the top plays on ESPN’s SportsCenter.
(He) just ran really hard, physical, Kelly said. That gets energy for everybody. The o-line sees a guy that’s really pounding it in there; I think that he got us that energy that we needed.
I think what he did more than anything else is that he ran north and south.
Wood had his usual array of dazzling runs that included some impressive cuts. He finished with 114 yards.
Riddick and Wood were so good on the day that the Irish only attempted three passes in the second half.
What makes Riddick and Wood’s performances even more impressive is the fact that BYU entered the game third nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 67.86 yards per game. Notre Dame finished with 270 yards on the ground.
Credit Kelly for going with what was working and that was the ground game.
It was pretty clear that we were going to be able to control both sides of the ball on the offensive line and defensive line, said Kelly afterwards in the press conference.
(We) really stuck with our game plan. (We) came in here wanting to run the football. Thought we controlled that quite well.
Kelly was confident his team would control the line of scrimmage based on matchups.
We felt that we matched up well, Kelly explained. If they are going to play a lot of two-deep zone, we always philosophically like to go in thinking about running the football first.
It was a good thing that Riddick and Wood brought their A-game because the passing game left a lot to be desired.
Tommy Rees got his first start of the season and managed to only complete 7 of 16 passes for 117 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
Rees got the nod over Everett Golson, who left last week’s Stanford game with a head injury and wasn’t cleared to practice until the middle of the week. Reserve quarterback Andrew Hendrix did play briefly in the first half for the first time since the season opener against Navy and responded with a 14-yard first-down run.
Kelly made the decision to go to Rees after Friday’s walk-through and said at that time he decided not to play Golson at all against BYU.
The reason for it was mostly health and safety, Kelly said.
The Irish trailed early in the fourth quarter 14-10 when they put together their most impressive drive of the game.
George Atkinson’s 2-yard run capped an eight-play 72-yard scoring drive that gave the hosts a 17-14 lead with just under 13 minutes to play.
Irish kicker Kyle Brindza, who had missed his previous two field goal tries in the game, connected on a 24-yarder for the third-quarter’s lone score. The kick got the Irish to within 14-10.
BYU (4-4 on the season) got into Irish territory midway through the fourth quarter, but the defense stiffened.
Facing a fourth-and-13 from Notre Dame’s 34-yard line, the Cougars elected to punt with 6:19 remaining in the game.
They wouldn’t see the ball again until 22 seconds were left.
Notre Dame got off to a 7-0 lead as Rees hooked up with good friend and tight end Tyler Eifert for a 4-yard score with 90 seconds left in the first quarter.
BYU knotted the score at 7 midway through the second quarter as quarterback Riley Nelson found running back Jamaal Williams wide open in the back of the end zone on third-and-goal.
The touchdown was the first scored against the Irish defense since Sept. 8 (Purdue), snapping a streak of 17 straight quarters without giving up an offensive touchdowns. In addition, it was also ended Notre Dame’s streak at 11 times of holding opponents who got in the red zone without a touchdown.
On the Irish’s next possession, Rees’ pass intended for receiver DaVaris Daniels was intercepted at Notre Dame’s 30.
BYU then needed just four plays to find the end zone as Nelson hooked up with tight end Kaneakua Friel for a 2-yard score. The Irish crowd was stunned as their team trailed 14-7 with 6:07 left in the opening half. It was just the second time this season Notre Dame’s defense had allowed two offensive touchdowns in a game.
We want to do whatever it takes to win and those 14 points upset us a lot, Te’o said.
We dug ourselves a hole in the first half, Kelly said.
But his team was able to dig out of that hole and win its fourth game of the season that was decided by a touchdown or less.
When we get into these close games, the mentality now is we are going to do whatever it takes to win, Te’o said. It’s no longer just crossing our fingers and going please, please, please, waiting for the next shoe to drop. We are always trying to be that person – making things happen.
Te’o and his defense held BYU to 243 total yards, including just 66 on the ground.
They sacked Nelson four times, generated two turnovers and didn’t allow a play of more than 21 yards.
Now, Te’o and Co. will turn their attention to Oklahoma so let the hype begin. Notre Dame will now begin preparation for its biggest game of the season, a date with the Sooners, the Oct. 27 game that will be televised by ABC beginning at 8 p.m.
