GameDay Chat: #5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. Florida State Seminoles
Notre Dame and Florida State face each other in a matchup of the number five Fighting Irish against the struggling 1-2 Seminoles.
This game day chat is where you can talk about the game, get the latest analysis and get the latest updates from the game.
NOTRE DAME WINS 42-26
SECOND HALF
10:58 - Notre Dame's fourth-and-goal run fails, but the Irish drive took 6:29 off the clock, all but icing the game.
10:35 - Florida State had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but cornerback Shaun Crawford stepped in front of a third-and-goal pass and picked it off, ending the Seminole drive. The Irish again struggled containing the quarterback on the drive, and allowed FSU to convert a 4th-and-9.
10:17 - Irish defense forces its second straight three-and-out.
10:15 - Notre Dame misses a 45-yard field goal. The run game got ND into FSU territory, but two straight incomplete passes stalled the drive. One was a miss on a seam route by Book and the second a drop by Williams.
10:05 - Notre Dame forces a three-and-out thanks to strong safety play. A running back was free running a seam route on first down, but DJ Brown closed quickly and knocked the ball out of the back's hands. A play later, the front seven lost contain on a counter run, but safety Kyle Hamilton came out of nowhere and blew up the back for just a 5-yard gain. The Irish stopped FSU on third-down to force a punt.
9:57 - Irish offense answers with a brilliant drive. QB Ian Book was excellent, finding the one-on-one matchups with Javon McKinley and hitting him twice. The second throw, a 38-yard gain, was a Cover 0 blitz and Book new there would be no safety help. He dropped back and let it rip, giving McKinley a chance to make a play.
A play later, FSU covered Notre Dame's smash concept perfectly and Book took off running, but he kept his eyes downfield and found Avery Davis on a crossing route for a 13-yard gain. Notre Dame scored two plays later when Book scored on a designed outside zone that was open because of a great edge block by Mayer and a great perimeter block by McKinley.
9:47 - Brutal start to the second half for the Notre Dame defense. FSU got Tamorrion Terry, their 6-4, 210-pound best receiver, matched up against LB Shayne Simon on snap one. That ended with a 30-yard completion, and safety Houston Griffith failed to get over top and help.
Notre Dame lost contain on multiple snaps, and Florida State kept attacking the weak side with QB counter runs and a quick pitch, and they kept getting to the outside for strong gains. The Irish will need to adjust quickly.
FIRST HALF STATS
9:20 PM - The touchdown play call was excellent. Rees used a bunch formation to get FSU's linebackers to reduce, then he used the tight ends (Mayer, Tremble) to run vertical to get the linebackers working vertically. The inside linebacker blitzed and Book threw behind him to Lenzy for an easy touchdown. Great call, great execution for the score.
9:18 PM - Notre Dame goes 57 yards on eight plays to get a score with just :11 left in the half to make it a 35-20 game.
Scrambles and runs by Book did most of the damage, and a personal foul by Florida State helped. Book missed a wide open McKinley on a scramble, but it worked out okay when he hit a wide open Lenzy on a crossing route for a 5-yard touchdown.
8:55 PM - Notre Dame goes 81 yards on 4 plays, with freshman RB Chris Tyree going for 64 yards on three carries. He capped it off with a 45-yard touchdown run. On the last two runs of the drive, center Jarrett Patterson absolutely destroyed 332-pound nose tackle Robert Cooper, which helped open up both runs. LG Dillan Gibbons also did a great job getting off a combo block and getting a body on the LB, which opened up the inside cut back lane. Great blocks by Patterson and Gibbons on the TD run.
8:47 PM - Notre Dame goes three-and-out after Book misses Lenzy on a go route. Lenzy had a step but the throw was long and didn't have enough air.
8:42 PM - Notre Dame forces a three-and-out after Shayne Simon blows up the first play of the series, which CB TaRiq Bracy finished with a 6-yard tackle for loss. Bracy ended the drive with a pass break up that he almost intercepted.
8:36 PM - Notre Dame answers with a 1-yard TD run from Williams. The 36-yard go route to McKinley got things started, and Book had another great throw to freshman TE Michael Mayer. Mayer beat the FSU LB with a nod-and-go and Book fit it between two defenders for the 17-yard gain, which set up a goal-to-go situation.
8:32 PM - Eichenberg walks off the field after being knocked down. Not sure what happened, but appears to be okay. Nothing to the shoulders or legs.
8:27 PM - First quarter ends with Notre Dame trailing 17-14, but the Irish are driving after a gorgeous deep ball by Book to Javon McKinley for 36 yards gets the Irish into FSU territory.
8:20 PM - Notre Dame goes three-and-out. The drive started with an incompletion on a deep post to Kevin Austin, a call I liked. After Eichenberg whiffed on a block, Book stepped up and scrambled for 8 yards.
On 3rd-and-2, Book read the overload blitz perfectly and hit WR Joe Wilkins Jr. on a quick crossing route, but Wilkins dropped the ball and ND had to punt.
8:17 PM - A muffed punt by Lawrence Keys sets up a Florida State touchdown to make it 14-10.
On 2nd-and-8, end Daelin Hayes got sealed inside and LB Shayne Simon was slow to scrape and also got sealed, which resulted in a 13-yard run and a 1st-and-goal. On the next play, LB Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah tried to make a play instead of executing his assignment, which was playing the QB, and the result was a TD.
8:08 PM - Notre Dame strikes quickly, with Williams going 46 yards for the score on a counter run to the left. Left tackle Liam Eichenberg destroyed the end, washing him inside and sealing off the line. Guard Tommy Kraemer got enough of a piece of the edge blitzer to allow Williams to cut inside. At that point there was no one between Williams and the end zone, at least no one for FSU.
8:01 PM - Notre Dame overcomes a Houston Griffith mistake that resulted in a 32-yard completion. Ade Ogundeji got a 2nd-and-5 sack, but DT Jacob Lacey had the assist by blowing up the inside of the line and not giving the QB a lane to step into. On 3rd-down, corner Shaun Crawford undercut an in cut for a break up, forcing a punt.
7:54 PM - Notre Dame answers with a 75-yard touchdown drive on just three plays. The big play was an inside zone that Kyren Williams took 65 yards. If it was a read-zone play it was a bad read by QB Ian Book, as the DE closed hard on Williams, but Williams made him miss in the backfield. Then he got behind great blocks by LT Liam Eichenberg and LG Aaron Banks, who opened up a huge run lane. ND scored two plays later on a crossing route from Book to freshman TE Michael Mayer.
7:49 PM - A Kurt Hinish sack on second down was negated a bit by a 13-yard scramble by Jordan Travis on third-down that got FSU back into field goal range. The 42-yard field goal puts the Seminoles up 3-0.
7:46 PM - Kyle Hamilton and Houston Griffith are starting at safety while Shaun Crawford and TaRiq Bracy are starting at corner.
7:43 PM - Huge mistake to start the drive for Notre Dame as Kyren Williams fumbles on 2nd-and-7, FSU takes over at the ND 32-yard line. Williams was tentative on the run and rushed his read, then compounded the mistake by not protecting the ball in traffic and it was ripped out.
7:40 PM - Florida State won the toss and chose to defer. Notre Dame will start with the football.
7:35 PM - I won't be shocked at all if the Notre Dame offense comes out early going fast and taking shots downfield. Would be a nice way to get into an early rhythm.
7:13 PM - Junior Shayne Simon has been the first team Buck linebacker so far during warm ups.
7:12 PM - Braden Lenzy, Avery Davis, Javon McKinley and Tommy Tremble going though reps with the first-team offense.
6:48 PM - Reminder that Notre Dame will be without starting DT Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and linebacker Jack Kiser tonight.
Before we get started, make sure you get caught up on all the pre-game analysis.
What To Look For - Things to look for early in the game to know if Notre Dame is ready to shake off the rust and dominate.
Keys To Victory: Notre Dame Offense vs. FSU - Keys for the Notre Dame offense to thrive in the matchup against the Seminoles.
Keys To Victory: Notre Dame Offense vs. FSU - Keys for the Notre Dame defense to thrive in the matchup against the Seminoles.
Stacking Up: Notre Dame Offense vs. FSU - How the Notre Dame offense stacks up on paper against the Florida State defense.
Stacking Up: Notre Dame Defense vs. FSU - How the Notre Dame defense stacks up on paper against the Florida State offense.
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