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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcome the Tulsa Golden Hurricane to South Bend this weekend for a game that marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Tulsa has won three of its last four games to improve to 4-3 overall. Members of Conference USA, the Golden Hurricane are 2-1 in league play, but they enter this weekend's tilt with an 0-4 road record. Last weekend, they treated the home crowd to a 52-24 romp over Tulane.
Notre Dame carried a three-game win streak into last week's meeting with Navy, but that contest resulted in an ugly 35-17 defeat. This season certainly hasn't gone according to plan for first-year head coach Brian Kelly, as his Fighting Irish are just 4-4 overall with no victories over elite competition.
The Golden Hurricane are generating 38.4 ppg and 491.6 total ypg, proof of the explosiveness of the team's offense. G.J. Kinne has taken almost every snap for Tulsa thus far, and he has completed 59.8 percent of his passes for 1,855 yards and 15 touchdowns against six interceptions. Charles Clay is the squad's top receiver, as he has made 27 grabs for 330 yards and six touchdowns. As for the ground attack, Alex Singleton leads the charge with 306 yards and five touchdowns despite the fact that he hasn't started a single game.
Against Tulane last weekend, the Tulsa offense was hitting on all cylinders, finishing with 538 total yards and seven touchdowns. Five of the scores came via the ground attack, including two from Damaris Johnson. Kinne played well under center, completing 15-of-25 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns against zero interceptions. Clay scored on two of his four catches, and Tulsa did not commit a single turnover in the clash.
There is some room for improvement defensively for Tulsa, as it is allowing 28.9 ppg and 443.3 total ypg to the opposition. Stopping the run has been the strength of the defense, as it is holding does to 113.1 ypg at a clip of 3.5 yards per carry. Unfortunately, the squad has been shredded through the air, permitting 330.1 ypg and 13.1 yards per completion. Of the 27 touchdowns that Tulsa has surrendered to opposing offenses thus far, 19 have come through the air.
Tulsa was victimized for 527 yards by Tulane last weekend, but the Green Wave were only able to score three touchdowns, largely because the Golden Hurricane came up with a pair of takeaways and recorded three sacks as well. Tulsa did a tremendous job against the run, allowing a modest 81 yards on 35 attempts. Unfortunately, 446 passing yards were surrendered.
Notre Dame is generating 25.9 ppg and 395.0 total ypg, and the man at the helm of the offense is first-year starter Dayne Crist. The signal caller has completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,033 yards and 15 touchdowns against seven interceptions. Michael Floyd, who leads the Irish with 44 catches for 624 yards and six touchdowns, missed the last game with a hamstring injury, but he is expected to return this weekend. The prognosis isn't as positive for second-leading receiver Theo Riddick, as he is unlikely to play because of an ankle injury. Armando Allen paces the UND ground attack with 514 yards and two scores.
Against Navy last week, Notre Dame finished with 363 total yards after possessing the ball for barely over 24 minutes. Crist threw a pair of interceptions that proved costly, and there is no question that Floyd was sorely missed.
Opponents are generating 24.5 ppg against Notre Dame, which is yielding 392.4 total ypg. The Fighting Irish have been solid against the pass, yielding just 10.2 yards per carry with 10 interceptions and just eight touchdowns allowed. There is some room for improvement against the run, however, as 4.3 yards per carry are being permitted and 14 touchdowns have been surrendered. Manti Te'o has been a force for the defense, as he paces Notre Dame with 92 tackles, 30 more than his closest teammate.
It came as absolutely no surprise that Navy ran the ball on almost every down against Notre Dame, as the Midshipmen feature the option. Their quarterback only attempted two passes against the Irish, one of which resulted in a touchdown. Notre Dame surrendered 367 rushing yards and allowed 10-of-13 third-down conversion attempts to be successful.
Notre Dame gets the nod in this clash, as the squad will knock off Tulsa in what figures to be a high-scoring affair. Crist will have a big afternoon, avenging his lackluster performance against Navy.
Notre Dame Drops Heartbreaker To Tulsa 28-27
Tulsa’s John Flanders intercepted a Tommy Rees pass in the end zone with 36 seconds left as the Golden Hurricane upset the Fighting Irish in South bend 28-27. Rees had led Notre Dame to the 19 yard line int eh closing seconds, but in attempting to go for a touchdown his underthrown pass was intercepted, giving Tulsa the surprise victory.
Rees was forced to play due to Dayne Crist suffering another knee injury int he first quarter. Rees was 33 of 54 with 334 yards and four touchdowns, but his three interceptions were costly.
Tulsa managed the only points of the four quarter when Kevin Fitzpatrick hit a 27 yard field goal with 3:23 left.
Perhaps the biggest play of the game came with 6:13 left in the first quarter when Tulsa’s Curnelius Arnick returned a blocked extra point all the way for a defensive conversion. The three point shift ended up being the difference in the game. Damaris Johnson also had a 59 yard punt return for a score for Tulsa.
Michael Floyd continued his stellar play with 11 catches for 104 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Oct 30 7:47p by Travis Miller - 0 comments