D-Boyz!
On paper, this year’s Notre Dame defensive squad looked pretty tight, but you never completely know what you’ve got until that first game is played. Notre Dame’s “D-Boyz” came out full speed ahead against the Texas Longhorns on Saturday and never looked back.
How good was Notre Dame’s defense? Lets take a look at the production of the Longhorn offense to see how effective Notre Dame was on defense. Notre Dame held UT to eight first downs, 60 net yards rushing, 103 net yards passing, and UT only converted twice on third down. Twice. The ND defense had four sacks for 31 yards. And four of the first five Texas possessions never made it past three downs.
Neither one of the two Texas quarterbacks passed for more than 100 yards. Tyrone Swoops completed 7-of-22 passes for 93 yards, and Jerrod Heard completed only one pass for 10 yards. The UT leading rusher Johnathan Gray had a mere eight carries for 40 yards, and none of the other UT rushers had more than 10 total yards.
Who really stood out on Notre Dame’s defense?
All-American candidate Jaylon Smith lead the pack with six solo tackles and one assist.
Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) in the second quarter. Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Joe Schmidt had three solo tackles and three assists.
Elijah Shumate had three solo tackles and one assist.
Notre Dame’s Elijah Shumate (22) brings down Texas’s Tyrone Swoopes (18) during the Notre Dame-Texas NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. SBT Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
KeiVarae Russell had two solo tackles and one assist.
KeiVarae Russell #6 (ND) tackles Daje Johnson #4 of (Texas) at ND Stadium on September 5, 2015 in South Bend, Indiana.
(Jon Durr/Getty Images)
And Romeo Okwara had one solo tackle and two assists.
Notre Dame’s Romeo Okwara (45) sacks Texas’s Tyrone Swoopes (18) during the Notre Dame-Texas NCAA college football game on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2015, at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend. SBT Photo/ROBERT FRANKLIN
It was a pretty good day for the solid mix of veterans and talented youngsters that composes this year’s defensive squad.
Could this be our first step towards the College Football Playoffs? Bring on UVA!
Cheers & GO IRISH!!
Her Loyal ... Daughter
Lisa Kelly is a multidimensional marketing professional. She has over two decades of marketing experience and earned a bachelor of business administration and marketing from the University of Notre Dame (Class of 1993 ... Siegfried Hall!). She is a Digital Publishing Manager by day and by night is writing her third book, a continuation of "Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became" and its sequel "The Men We Became: MORE Echoes From the End Zone." In 2012, Lisa was crowned the "Biggest Fan of the Big East" in a blogging and social media contest, representing Notre Dame.
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