Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/699309
BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 133 Notre Dame sustained another season-ending injury, however, just seven offensive plays into the opener when junior running back Tarean Folston incurs a torn ACL. Sept. 12 — Notre Dame rallied late to survive a test on the road at Virginia in a thrilling 34-27 win. Sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, in relief of Zaire, tossed a 39- yard touchdown to junior wide receiver Will Fuller with 12 seconds left to clinch the win. Zaire left the game in the third quarter and joined Jones, Crawford and Folston on the injury list. So too did junior tight end Durham Smythe with knee and shoulder injuries. Sept. 13 — With the news sinking in that Zaire would miss the rest of 2015, Kelly expressed his confidence in Kizer as having the "ability to play winning football." Sept. 19 — Notre Dame hung on to top No. 14 Georgia Tech 30-22 after building a 23-point lead in the second half. Senior running back C.J. Prosise rushed for 198 yards, including a 91-yard scamper that stood (for two more months) as the longest in Notre Dame Stadium history. Sept. 26 — Notre Dame exploded offensively en route to a 62-27 win against UMass in the final tune-up before traveling to Clemson the next weekend. Former Indiana State Police Sgt. Tim McCarthy was recog - nized on the field and provided his final safety message at Notre Dame Stadium after doing so for 55 seasons. Oct. 3 — A 21-3 deficit preceded an Irish rally that fell just short in a 24-22 defeat in pouring rain at Clemson. The Tigers would go 13-0 during the regular season and top Oklahoma in the semifinals before losing to Alabama in the national championship game. Oct. 10 — A strong second half helped Notre Dame pull away from Navy, 41-24. Prosise rushed for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Oct. 17 — The season's second home night game resulted in a 41-31 Irish win over USC and interim head coach Clay Helton after Notre Dame scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. A 10-yard pass from Kizer to junior wide receiver Corey Robinson serves as the game-winning score. Fuller caught three passes for 131 yards, highlighted by a 75-yard score on Trojan speedster Adoree' Jackson. Oct. 31 — A late touchdown pass from Kizer to Fuller put Notre Dame ahead for good in a 24-20 win at No. 21 Temple. The Irish red-zone woes continued, but Kelly's squad scored just enough to improve to 7-1 on the year. Nov. 7 — Kizer tossed five touchdown passes and rushed for another in a 42-30 victory at Pittsburgh. Fuller torches the Panther secondary with seven receptions for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Nov. 11 — Fuller tells reporters that he will return to Notre Dame for his senior season in 2016. Nov. 14 — Notre Dame celebrates Senior Day with a 28-7 win over Wake Forest after reaching No. 3 in the College Football Playoff poll. Senior defensive end Romeo Okwara records three sacks in his final game in South Bend. Nov. 21 — The Irish survive a sloppy performance against Boston College to top the Eagles 19-16 in the annual Shamrock Series event at Fenway Park. However, senior cornerback KeiVarae Russell suffered a broken tibia and was lost for the remainder of the season. Nov. 24 — After back-to-back underwhelm - ing performances against inferior ACC teams, the Irish are dropped down to No. 6 in the College Football Playoff poll that selects only four teams. Nov. 28 — Any remaining hope of reaching the Playoff was lost when a back-and-forth affair between Notre Dame and Stanford resulted in a 38-36 Cardinal win. Kizer's two-yard scoring run temporarily put the Irish ahead with 30 seconds left before a Stanford drive set up kicker Conrad Ukropina for a game-winning 45-yard field goal as time expired. Dec. 6 — Notre Dame earned a spot in a New Year's Six bowl following a 10-2 regular season and is matched up with Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Dec. 9 — Smith became the second Irish linebacker in four years to be named the Butkus Award winner for the nation's top player at the position. He also earned the high school version of the award in 2012. Dec. 17 — Smith and left tackle Ronnie Stanley are named consensus All-Americans, the first set of Irish teammates to earn the honor in the same season since Jeff Burris and Aaron Taylor in 1993. Dec. 29 — During Notre Dame's bowl prep in Arizona, safety Max Redfield was sent home for a violation of team rules. (Freshman defensive lineman Jerry Tillery would also be held out of the game for a violation of team rules.) Cornerback Devin Butler suffered a broken left foot and is unable to play. Jan. 1 — Notre Dame fell 44-28 to No. 7 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. On top of the program falling short of a major bowl win for the 22nd straight season, Smith suffered a torn ACL and LCL along with nerve damage that put his NFL Draft stock into serious doubt. Jan. 2 — Prosise was the first of four players to declare for the NFL Draft while having eligibility remaining, and would later be joined by Smith, Russell and Fuller. Jan. 13 — Five recruits signed scholarship agreements and began their time at Notre Dame as early enrollees: wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, defensive linemen Khalid Kareem and Daelin Hayes, and defensive backs Devin Stud - still and Spencer Perry. Jan. 29 — Kelly agreed to a contract extension through the 2021 season. Feb. 3 — Notre Dame officially unveiled the 23 players in its 2016 recruiting class. Feb. 11 — Robinson was elected student body president and becomes, according to the university, the first football player to serve in that capacity. Feb. 16 — Steve Elmer announced that he would forgo his final year of athletic eligibility following his junior season to take a job in Washington, D.C. April 16 — The Blue team topped the Gold squad 17-7 in the annual spring game, with punter Tyler Newsome's 52.7- yard average on seven attempts a top story. April 28 — Stanley (No. 6 to Baltimore) and Fuller (No. 21 to Houston) were selected in the first round of the NFL Draft. During the weekend, seven former Irish players hear their names called, with six in the first three rounds. May 8 — Bryant, who had announced a transfer to UAB in November, dies after sustaining a gunshot wound the previous day in Florida. May 13 — The program welcomed back junior tight end Tyler Luatua, who had earlier announced his intentions to transfer from Notre Dame to BYU. 2015 Results Date Opponent Score Attendance Sept. 5 Texas W, 38-3 80, 795 Sept. 12 at Virginia W, 34-27 58,200 Sept. 19 Georgia Tech W, 30-22 80,795 Sept. 26 UMass W, 62-27 80,795 Oct. 3 at Clemson L, 24-22 82,415 Oct. 10 Navy W, 41-24 80,795 Oct. 17 USC W, 41-31 80, 795 Oct. 31 at Temple* W, 24-20 69,280 Nov. 7 at Pittsburgh W, 42-30 68,400 Nov. 14 Wake Forest W, 28-7 80,795 Nov. 21 vs. Boston College# W, 19-16 38,686 Nov. 28 at Stanford L, 38-36 51,424 Jan. 1 vs. Ohio State% L, 44-28 71,123 * at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; # at Fen - way Park in Boston; % at University of Phoenix Sta- dium in Glendale, Ariz. Junior Jaylon Smith became the second Irish player in four years to be named the Butkus Award winner as the nation's top linebacker, and he was also tabbed as a consensus All-American. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA "I'm not disappointed in our guys. I'm disappointed that they didn't take advantage of the opportunity that they had this weekend, and that was to beat a team on the road in a tough place to play and overcome the elements. You don't want to repeat that, and I hope that they never forget that." KELLY ON THE HEARTBREAKING 24-22 LOSS AT CLEMSON