Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/841614
136 ✦ BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW 2016 Year In Review BY MATT JONES T hings could not have gone much worse for the Notre Dame football program in 2016. Head coach Brian Kelly's squad took a major step back after a 10-3 finish in 2015, eliminated from the College Football Playoff discussion in September and slogged to a 4-8 record. It started with a devastating double-overtime loss to Texas in the opener and finished with a blowout defeat at USC in the finale. In be- tween, there were injuries, firings and dramat- ics, with a few wins sprinkled along the way. A preseason top-10 ranking proved far too optimistic for the 2016 Irish, with several stars failing to step up and a number of new- comers thrust into the spotlight. The following is a timeline of the year that was: Aug. 2 — Notre Dame comes in at No. 3 in the As- sociated Press' all-time top 100 poll. Aug. 3 — It is announced that sophomore tight end Alizé Jones is academically ineligible and will miss the entire 2016 season. He is, however, allowed to practice with the team. Aug. 4 — Notre Dame partners with Bleacher Report, giving the website exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the program. Aug. 6 — For the third straight year, Notre Dame opened fall camp away from campus at Culver Acad- emies in Culver, Ind. Aug. 13 — Head coach Brian Kelly says that senior safety Max Redfield, a former five-star recruit, is play- ing at an "elite level" during preseason practice. Aug. 17 — At the team's media day, Kelly says that both junior DeShone Kizer and senior Malik Zaire will play at quarterback in the season opener at Texas. Aug. 20 — Six Notre Dame players are arrested in two incidents: senior cornerback Devin Butler, sopho- more cornerback Ashton White, senior safety Max Redfield, freshman wide receiver Kevin Stepherson, sophomore running back Dexter Williams and sopho- more linebacker Te'von Coney. Aug. 21 — Following the previous day's arrest, Kelly dismisses Redfield from the team. Butler is put on indefinite suspension. Aug. 23 — Sophomore wide receiver Chris Finke is awarded a scholarship. Aug. 24 — Four players were named captains for the 2016 season: senior linebacker James Onwualu, senior defensive end Isaac Rochell, senior offensive tackle Mike McGlinchey and senior wide receiver Torii Hunter Jr. Sept. 4 — In a wild, back-and-forth double-overtime affair, Notre Dame falls on the road at Texas 50-47. The Irish rallied from a 17-point deficit in front of a Texas- record crowd of 102,315, but lose to the Longhorns on a sweltering night in Austin. Kizer gets the start at quarterback and rotates with Zaire throughout the first half before Kelly gives Kizer full control in the second half and overtime. Hunter suf- fers a concussion on a controversial hit, an injury that forces him out of the following week's game. Sept. 11 — In their home opener, the Irish bounce back with a 39-10 win over Nevada. Notre Dame tallied 444 yards in offense, including 239 on the ground and 205 through the air. The Irish sustained a season-ending injury to sopho- more cornerback Shaun Crawford in the first quarter. After missing the entire 2015 season with a torn ACL, Crawford tears his Achilles against the Wolf Pack. Sept. 18 — The 18th-ranked Irish fell behind by 29 points in the second half en route to a 36-28 loss to 12th-ranked Michigan State, moving Kelly's team to 1-2 to begin the season. Kizer finishes the game 20-of-37 passing for 344 yards and two touchdowns, but fails to engineer a game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. The Spartans run for 260 yards and tally 501 total yards against a porous Notre Dame defense. Sept. 24 — Notre Dame suffers one of the most em- barrassing losses of the Kelly era, falling to Duke 38-35 at Notre Dame Stadium. Duke's A.J. Reed hit a 19-yard field goal with 1:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Kizer was again unable to lead the Irish back. After jumping out to a 14-0 lead, Notre Dame allows three unanswered touchdowns, including a 96-yard kickoff return. A Blue Devils offense not known to be explosive finishes with 498 yards against the Irish. Sept. 25 — Defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder is fired. Analyst Greg Hudson is promoted to defensive coordinator. "I have the utmost respect for Brian as both a person Junior DeShone Kizer seized the starting job quarterback early in the season, and accounted for 283.1 yards of total offense per game and 34 touchdowns (26 passing and eight rushing) en route to team MVP honors. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA