Empire State of Mind

On Saturday, under the bright lights of Yankee Stadium, the IRISH posted another impressive victory, 27-3 over the Black Knights of Army. Anchored by the defense and the Rees-Eifert connection, Notre Dame and coach Brian Kelly moved to 6-5 on the season and a lock for a post-season bowl game.


HEISMAN BABY

MANTI TE'O - 9 tackles - Te'o anchored another stellar performance by the Irish defense as the Irish held the vaunted Army ground game to only 174 yards of offense (135 on the ground) and only 3 points. Te'o is one of nation's leaders in tackles, and did I mention he broke his nose yet finished the game!


ROCK SOLID

TYLER EIFERT - 4 rec for 78 yds - TD - Eifert made two beautiful grabs that accounted for both IRISH offensive touchdowns in the game. Eifert, a redshirt sophomore, is quickly making Irish fans forget some guy named Rudolph, and has become QB Tommy Rees number one target.

IRISH D - 3 points - The Irish D stopped one of the nation's most successful rushing attacks. For the second straight week, the Irish did not allow a touchdown, a streak last seen in 1988!


GET HIM OUTTA THERE (1st Quarter only)

TOMMY REES - 13 of 20 for 214 yds - TD, INT - Rees opened the game and marched the Irish offense 69 yards on nine plays into the Army redzone, only to throw a terrible interception. Rees tried to force the issue into the smallest of small windows and simply did not see the Army defender right in the passing lane. Army proceeded to march down the field for points and visions of Navy danced in my head.

HARRISON SMITH - 6 tackles - Following the Rees INT, Army moved the ball 74 yards on 17 plays. On that drive, Notre Dame was holding the Army offense to conservative yardage on each play, but the Black Knights were four for four on third down conversions. The go-to play was their toss sweep to the tailback, which was Harrison Smith's responsibility. He was consistently late getting to the edge, allowing Army to continue the drive. However, the Irish D finally held after Army reached the 6-yard line, forcing a field goal. After that opening drive, Army only mustered three first downs the remainder of the game.


WAIT WHAT?

Was that a pick-six?!?!?! DARRIN WALLS (7 tackles, INT) picked a great opportunity to reinvent himself. Walls' pick six in the third quarter closed the door on Army putting the Irish ahead 24-3. It was Walls' third INT of the season, his 2nd career interception return for a TD (2007 v. Penn State), and the first pick six for the Irish D since Robert Blanton (2008 v. Purdue). It is important to note that for the second straight week, Notre Dame is finding ways to score outside of the offense and doing it in a dominating fashion.



-DH