For more on the Irish, read SB Nation's Rakes of Mallow. For more on the Hurricanes, read SB Nation's 7th Floor Blog.
That Irish team you saw go 3-0 in November, beating several teams who averaged over 30 points per game? They came to play once again, this time on New Years Eve, handling the Miami Hurricanes 33-17 in the Sun Bowl Friday afternoon in El Paso, Tex.
The Irish defense once again controlled the game, much like they did the final 3 games of the regular season. They intercepted four of Miami’s first ten passes, leading to 10 ND points. ND Safety Harrison had 3 Interceptions all by himself, tying the Sun Bowl record. Miami QB Jacory Harris threw 3 INTs in his first 7 passes, causing Head Coach Jeff Stoutland to make a change, bringing in Freshmen Stephen Morris.
Miami was held to only 213 yards in the first three quarters before gaining 192 in the fourth quarter, when ND was more in a prevent defense. The other factor that came into play was ND linebacker Manti Te’o went out with a sprained knee, and did not return.
The ND offense was led by WR Michael Floyd, who was named the C.M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player, caught 6 balls for 106 yards and 2 TDs, but came out of the game towards the end of the 3rd quarter, apparently injuring himself on a diving try for a TD pass. QB Tommy Rees played mistake-free, going 16-30 for 195 yards and 2 TDs.
The Irish Rushing attack controlled the line of scrimmage for much of the day, rushing for 202 yards on 47 carries. Cierre Wood led the way with 85 yards on only 11 carries, including a 34 yard TD run, and Robert Hughes gained 84 bruising yards of his own. It helped ND to have the ball for over 37 minutes of the game, something the Brian Kelly offense doesn’t do very often.
ND Kicker David Ruffer was 3/4 on Field Goals, breaking his consecutive streak of field goals made at 23 straight. Nick Tausch added the 4th FG of the game for the Irish.
This is the second consecutive Bowl win for the Fighting Irish, who had lost 9 straight bowl games between 1995 and 2007, before beating Hawaii in 2008 in the Hawaii Bowl.
Notre Dame ends the season 8-5, and for the first time since 1992 they enter the offseason on a multi-game winning streak.
Notre Dame extended their lead by 3 points in the third quarter on a 19 yard FG by David Ruffer, now leading Miami 30-3. Unfortunately, his consecutive made FG streak ended with that Field Goal, as he missed one from 38 yards out towards the end of the quarter.
ND LB Manti Te’o has a brace on his injured right knee, but has not returned to the game, despite him badgering the coaching staff to return.
Irish standout LB Manti Te’o looks to have injured his right knee on a collision with teammate Robert Blanton, who both went up to defend a pass. Te’o came down awkwardly on his leg, putting his knee in a bad position.
Some good news on the injury front for the Irish, as Tommy Rees has returned to the lineup. He has a bruised knee.
Miami’s QBs might have mistaken Harrison Smith for a Hurricane in the first half, as the Irish safety would be the leading receiver for them, intercepting three passes in route to a 27-3 halftime lead for the Fighting Irish. The first two came via throws from starter Jacory Harris, who also threw an INT to Robert Blanton before being pulled in favor of backup Stephen Morris, who promptly threw an INT to Smith.
Irish Freshman QB Tommy Rees is 9/18 for 113 yards and 2 TDS, both to WR Michael Floyd, who has 96 yards receiving already against the 2nd ranked Miami Pass defense. Rees looked to have injured his left knee near the end of the first half, and his status is unclear for the second half. Nate Montana is the backup.
ND Kicker David Ruffer continued his streak of made Field Goals, now making all 17 Field Goals on the season by kicking a 40 and a 50 yard FG. Miami’s lone points came on the last play of the half, a 47 yard FG by Matt Bosher.
The Hurricanes are not helping themselves with penalties either, committing 7 of them for 75 yards.
ND WR Michael Floyd has 78 yards receiving in the first quarter, including two TD catches from QB Tommy Rees from 2 and 34 yards out. The Irish have held the ball for over 10 minutes in the first quarter, dominating it in all phases.
ND CB Robert Blanton intercepted a Jacory Harris pass towards the end of the quarter, but did not lead to any points. Miami gained their first First Down with 13 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Notre Dame sports information director Brian Hardin sent out a picture of Sun Bowl Stadium around midnight MT Thursday night, where the entire field was covered in snow. Weather forecasts for the game, from the El Paso Times:
Snow mixed with rain is possible and the high will be barely in the 40s. Lows will be in the teens.
This would seem like an advantage for the Irish, who are used to being in cold weather, opposed to the Hurricanes who rarely see weather dipping into the 50s, let alone the 30s. It’ll be interesting to see how much the weather plays a part in today’s game.
SB Nation Indiana’s Travis Miller was kindly approached by the Marines to preview a bowl game over at Hammer and Rails, so he decided to choose the bowl game being played by the only team in Indiana to participate in one: The Sun Bowl. Let’s face it: when the Marines ask you to do something, you undoubtedly do it with a smile on your face. Here’s what Travis had to say:
It looks like Miami should be able to handle this game well. The recent coaching change and their inability to hold on to the football gives me doubts as to their ability to win the game. There is a reason Miami is 7-5 when, on talent, they should have breezed through the ACC. There is a reason they lost to Ohio State in a game that was much closer than the final score. They cannot keep from shooting themselves in the foot. If they can ever put it together while eliminating their own mistakes this will be a solid football team. There has been no evidence of that this year, however, so look for Notre Dame to keep it very close.
At the very least, it is an excuse to grow a mullet, buy a Trans Am, and pretend it is the 80s once again (or, if you’re a typical Notre Dame fan, don’t change anything). For Canes fans, if we’re going to play into stereotypes (and I want to be fair) they can hope the border to Juarez and update their contacts for “illicit substances”.For me, I’ll be watching ESPN’s 30 for 30: The U in preparation.
Miami interim head coach Jeff Stoutland announced Thursday that Jacory Harris will be the starting quarterback for the Hurricanes Friday afternoon when they take on Notre Dame in the Hyundai Sun Bowl.
It was widely assumed Harris would get the start, and it became even more apparent when backup QB Stephen Morris sprained his left ankle in practice on Tuesday. Stoutland said Morris is available to play if necessary.
From SB Nation’s Rakes Of Mallow:
Breaking down the X’s and O’s is important, but honestly, a majority of the time these bowl games come down to who wants to be there. West Virginia looked like they would have rather been anywhere else but Orlando for the Champs Sports Bowl. Maryland was positively psyched to send the Fridge out with a victory. On one side, I don’t think Notre Dame will be lacking in motivation. After a rough first nine games of the season, they’ve seen the results of buying into Brian Kelly’s system, with the cathartic beat down of Utah, the joyous conquering of Army in Yankee Stadium and then the punting of the monkey from their back in Los Angeles. Just in case the team had forgotten, winning is really fun, and all of the hard work is worth it.
2010 Hyundai Sun Bowl: Notre Dame vs. Miami, Bitter Rivalry Renewed
It's been 20 years since the last time the "Catholics vs. Convicts" met, and still a couple more years before Notre Dame and Miami will meet at Soldier Field in Chicago, but Friday afternoon we'll see the Fighting Irish and the Hurricanes square-off in the Hyundai Sun Bowl, played in El Paso, Tex. Both teams finished the season at 7-5, but they were very different 7-5 seasons.
Reports of former Miami Head Coach Randy Shannon's firing started to surface less than 8 hours after their regular season finale, a 23-20 OT loss at home to South Florida, which looked to be the nail in the coffin for Shannon. The season began with high hopes for the Hurricanes, ranking 13th in both preseason polls, and they jumped out to a 5-2 record, with losses at Ohio State, and against rival Florida State. They finished the season a disappointing 2-3, including a loss at 4-8 Virginia, UVA's only conference win, and two losses to end the season, both at home, to Virginia Tech and USF. While Miami has hired former Temple Head Coach Al Golden to be their next head coach, he will not be coaching the Hurricanes in the Sun Bowl. Offensive Line Coach Jeff Stoutland will be the head coach for the Hurricanes, as he was named interim Head Coach back when Shannon was fired.
Notre Dame, on the other hand, was playing their best football of the season in November, a welcome change for the Fighting Irish, who had only won 1 game the previous two Novembers. On the evening of October 30, after a tragic week on campus, and an extremely frustrating loss to Tulsa at home, the Irish were 4-5, with their bowl hopes flying right out the window, now needing two wins against a then 8-0 Utah team, Army, and a trip to Southern California, a team ND hadn't beaten since 2001, Bob Davie's final season. But something happened over the bye week, and the Irish pounded both Utah and Army, and finally beat the Trojans 20-16 on Thanksgiving weekend, getting them to 7-5.
Stoutland has yet to name a starting quarterback for Miami, but all signs point to Jacory Harris getting the start. He has taken the majority of snaps during practice, and was the starter before suffering a concussion in that ugly loss to Virginia. Harris then missed the next 3 games, before returning in relief in the season finale, going 12-18 for only 110 yards and an Interception late while Miami was in FG range to win the game, in the loss to USF. True Freshmen Stephen Morris started the final 4 games of the season before being yanked early in the third quarter against USF. He was 8-17 for 78 yards an an INT of his own. It's a very good possibility both QBs will see action Friday, as Golden will certainly be getting a head start on evaluations for next season.
The Irish will have their own true Freshman starting QB, as Tommy Rees is 3-0 as the starter, after taking over for Dayne Crist back in the Tulsa game. Rees struggled in his last start against USC, as he threw three interceptions and fumbled inside the Irish 5 yard line, against the Trojan defense. However, he made a couple key throws on the game winning drive, in between Robert Hughes running right down the throats of the USC defense. Rees will be looking to show the Irish coaching staff he deserves to be the starter heading into Spring practice, as Crist is scheduled to be back healthy by then.
Speculation has been swirling around the two best Irish receivers, WR Michael Floyd and TE Kyle Rudolph, about whether they'll fore-go their final year of eligibility and enter the NFL draft this season. Both look to be pretty good NFL prospects, and both have requested NFL Advisory Committee evaluations, which doesn't really mean much other than they are gathering as much information as possible. A final decision will need to be made by the middle of January. Rudolph has been out of action since October 9th, when he suffered a hamstring injury that ended his season.
The biggest turnaround for the Irish over the last 3+ games was on the defensive side, where they completely shut down some pretty potent offenses. After Navy ripped the defense to shreds, and calls were made for an immediate change at Defensive Coordinator, they suddenly became a defense the Irish faithful hadn't seen in almost a decade. After surrendering an opening drive TD to Tulsa, the Irish gave up only one offensive touchdown in the final 15 quarters. That one TD, a 4th down, 1 yard sneak by USC QB Mitch Mustain, came after a Rees fumble that gave the Trojans the ball at the ND 2 yard line. They held Utah, who averaged over 35 points per game, and over 40 per game at that point in the season, to only 3 points, a short field opening drive gift as well.
The Irish defense resurgence was also done without their best defensive lineman, NT Ian Williams, who is all set to return to the ND lineup for the Sun Bowl. The D-Line will have its biggest challenge of the season, as the Hurricane offensive line is one of the top units in the country, anchored by Freshman OT Seantrel Henderson. Miami only gave up 16 sacks on the season, and averaging over 190 rushing yards per game. Along with Williams, Sophomore LB Manti Te'o will make his presence known, like he has in every other game in 2010. Te'o had surgery a month ago, after the USC game, on a broken nose suffered in the Army game.
Miami's defense will be a formidable foe for the Irish offense, as they gave up less than 20 points per game in 2010, and rank 8th nationally in sacks, with 37. The defense is led by Senior LB Colin McCarthy, who leads the Hurricanes with 105 tackles, including 9 tackles for loss, and Junior LB Sean Spence, who added 101 tackles, and a whopping 17 tackles for loss. Senior DL Allen Bailey lead Miami in sacks, with 7. They'll look to slow down the Irish Offense, who gets Theo Riddick back from an injured ankle, but loses Senior WR Duval Kamara, who will not be traveling to El Paso due to "personal reasons".
This looks to be a pretty good matchup between two teams that are very similar. Look for whichever team can force turnovers, rather than commit them themselves, to come out on top. With both defenses being the strength of their team, look for a low scoring affair in "sunny" El Paso.
The Sun Bowl will be played Friday, December 31 at 2:00 ET on CBS.
Jan 01 11:04a by Matt Grecco - 0 comments