Notre Dame is as much concept as it is construct. It is an idea and a place that we each seek to relive on Saturdays in precise, ritualized detail. It is a place where tradition matters, and where a not insignificant number of the fans are at least as concerned with the players singing the alma mater as they are with the players actually winning. And so it is that Senior Day has come to matter so much, for in that final jog from tunnel to family and friends, we get to say a personal thank you to each player, all the while hoping, for some, that he will stop and apologize for an on-field transgression they have held against him for three years.
Yesterday, against BYU, the Irish offered up a complete performance, whether tribute to themselves as seniors or as apology for last game’s clanger against Pitt is for them alone to know. It was also perfectly balanced, on the production end, as forty-seven rushing attempts and twenty-eight passing attempts turned out 235 yards in each column for a total 570 yards. And, it was perfect, too, as seniors shared the highlight reels with underclassmen Jarron Jones, Jaylon Smith, and Sheldon Day.
It was imperfect, though, if you believe, as I do, that the term “home-field advantage” should begin, at least, with the actual field itself. Yesterday, amid the romance of swirling snow and the dying of a blue November light, chunks of turf gave way to stymie TJ Jones and stifle runs by Folston and Atkinson. The 2013 BYU game should be remembered for many reasons. The deplorable turf should be one of them.
Notre Dame’s defense, maligned for reasons valid and not this year, played certainly well enough. They contained BYU’s quarterback, Tayson Hill, when they needed to, and held the BYU offense to 13 points, one touchdown and two field-goals, spread over the first and third quarters. In critical spot after critical spot in the fourth quarter and with the contest very much in the balance, the Irish front four were as stout as they were in any magic moment in the 2012 season of magical moments. They shattered Hill’s pocket on BYU’s final possession. Stephon Tuitt , who harried the BYU line all game, notched his sixth sack on the season by fighting through the Cougars’ left tackle and causing a six yard loss from the Notre Dame forty yard line with three minutes left. Sophomore Jarron Jones blocked what should have been a gimme field goal. Senior Austin Collinsworth picked up a timely interception.
Jaylon Smith, who wore Danny Spond’s number in his honor, was bright future in a snow globe as he continued to show why he electrified the recruiting services not that long ago. He blocked a pass and picked up three solo tackles, being everywhere at once. That he failed to sack Tayson Hill is probably less due to Smith’s inexperience than it is to Hill’s ability to run. It bears noting that Hill ran for 101 yards in Notre Dame while Johnny Football only managed fifty-four yards in Baton Rouge.
The touchdowns, perhaps due to the turf, the snow, the dark of night, or Notre Dame, all came in the first quarter. Tommy Rees, in his final home appearance, connected for sixty-one yards to Davaris Daniels, who then stunned fourteen year old girls around the country by breaking out a Hunger Games 2 salute or something. That’s what the kids on Twitter said. Daniels appeared to be Tommy’s target du jour, but TJ Jones, also for the last time on the auld sod, collected a couple of long passes, the first of which was a thirty yard toss that set up a short touchdown run by Tarean Folston. From that point, it was Kyle Brindza’s day (or night) (however you classify a game played out under the lights in the pitch dark) and he responded by connecting twice from twenty-six yards and once from eleven hundred and six, with storm force winds in his face and icicles hanging from his facemask.
The Irish ran the ball well, despite the field conditions. Folston and Atkinson gashed the Cougars for long gains, with Atkinson specifically turning out a noteworthy and uncharacteristically tough run. Cam McDaniel had 117 yards on the day and was only denied a long run for a touchdown by his lack of break-away speed. That any of this, or Tommy’s day, was done against a very well-regarded defensive unit is credit to Zack Martin and the Irish offensive line, who are playing as well as any in the country.
As time expired along with their final appearance, emotions took over. For Schwenke and Fox, Shembo and Tuitt and Rees, this was the final singing of Notre Dame, Our Mother and for the fans, the last time to chant their names. That the crowd chose to sing for Tommy and whether they meant fond farewell or good riddance or some combination of the two is for them, individually, alone to know.
Hating Hurricanes Since 1990.
Bayou Irish is a Jersey boy and Double Domer who fell under New Orleans' spell in 1995. He's been through Katrina and fourteen years in the Coast Guard, so we cut him some slack, mostly in the form of HLS-subsidized sazeracs. But, when he's not face down on the bar and communing with the ghosts of Faulkner and Capote at the Carousel Bar in the Hotel Monteleone, he's our man in SEC-land, doing his best to convince everyone around him that Graduation Success Rate is a better indicator of success than the number of MNC's won in the last five years.
- Finding Flaws in a Diamond: Clemson’s Rushing Offense - December 17, 2018
- Why Nobody Will Cotton to Notre Dame - December 3, 2018
- Irish Finish Regular Season Perfect 12-0 - November 26, 2018
Two things occurred to me while driving back from the game late Saturday night:
1. When I hear talking heads insisting that college football and basketball players need to be paid, they talk about the “entertainment dollars” that the players generate. What occurred to me is that I do not go to Notre Dame games to be entertained. I go to movies to be entertained, and to concerts, etc., but not Notre Dame games. I attend ND games to cheer the players on. Period. My job is to be there to support thet team and the school, with strong voice and the occasional obsenity aimed at refs, not to sit back as some passive schlub wanting to be entertained.
2. Tommy’s fourth quarter interception in the end zone was just a going away gift to all of us. It was his unintentional way of saying “it’s still me, folks.” An apt ending for a player we will all remember forever for (i) breaking the streak against USC and (ii) being a reflection on life – imperfect, at times maddening, but bettter than the alternative.