“Notre Dame had a really highly rated statistical defensive team,” he said. “I thought a real challenge for us in the game was how we would control the line of scrimmage. That’s probably the thing that was most surprising to me _ how we were able to control the line of scrimmage, especially early in the game.”
The first scoring drive _ which took only five plays _ was the longest the Irish had allowed all season.
“Alabama was the better team,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “They ran the football well. Our strength all year has been playing physical and tackling, and we did not tackle well together.”
McCarron threw downfield on the second play to Kevin Norwood for 29 yards. Three plays later, Lacy found lots of room up the middle and ran through the grasp of a cornerback en route to a 20-yard touchdown.
Most of the time in the early going, the Tide ran to the left and away from Te'o. Part of the game plan?
“It just happened,” Kouandjio said.
“The coaching staff did an excellent job game-plan-wise breaking down Notre Dame’s defense,” McCarron said. “They really had a great game plan for us coming in tonight, and my teammates did a great job of executing.”
Alabama’s linemen repeatedly locked up Te'o. When Lacy ran up the middle for another 20-yard gain on third-and-1 to the Notre Dame 3, Te'o was blocked out of play by Warmack and ended up chasing the play from behind.
Jones helped knock Te'o aside when Yeldon ran over right guard for a 1-yard score to make it 21-0. That was the second rushing touchdown allowed by the Irish, matching what they gave up during the entire regular season.
Notre Dame had allowed only two players to rush for 100 yards, but Lacy finished with 140 and Yeldon added 108.
Leading up to the game, Jones missed considerable practice time with a foot sprain, and he said his teammates up front took up the slack for him.
“They had to help me out a lot tonight, because I wasn’t really 100 percent,” Jones said. “I had to get help on plays I don’t usually get a lot of help on. They helped me get through this game. It was painful, but you couldn’t have pulled me off the field with a tractor.”
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
We all eat, and food should be fun and healthful. Food Commune celebrates the food we eat, the people we eat with and the spirits we enjoy.
First over-the-counter column approved for fast and effective relief from even your worst media-induced headache.
A collection of reader guest articles, thoughts and opinions by Communities writers and breaking news and information.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
