Notre Dame thumps Nevada, 39-10, for first win of season

By Greg Hadley | Sep 10, 2016

Sep 4, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown (6) flips into the end zone for a touchdown in front of Texas Longhorns safety Dylan Haines (14) in the second quarter at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /

In its first home game of the year, Notre Dame played even better than expected and routed Nevada for a huge 39-10 win to reassure the Irish fan base.

The Wolf Pack put the scare in Notre Dame early on, but the Irish used a massive second quarter to pull away and turn its 2016 home opener into a laugher.

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Kizer’s final stat line of 158 yards on 15-for-18 passing with two touchdowns and an interception was a far cry from his sterling performance against Texas last week, but it was more than enough for the Irish on Saturday. He left the game midway through the third quarter and never returned, resting up for the team’s prime time matchup against Michigan State next week.

Meanwhile, sophomore wide receiver Equanimeous St. Brown continued his breakout season, leading the team in catches and receiving yards, with six and 85, respectively.

However, St. Brown was not the only receiver to get in on the action. With senior Torii Hunter Jr. out after suffering a concussion against the Longhorns, six different receiver caught passes, including three who nabbed their first career grabs.

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Sophomore CJ Sanders, who had an impressive game against Texas, treated the home fans to a repeat performance, catching five passes for 46 yards and a touchdown. He also returned a kick 37 yards and a punt 24, giving him 107 all-purpose yards on the day.

True freshman Kevin Stepherson’s first ever collegiate catch was also a touchdown, as Kizer tossed a bullet to him on a slant rout in the end zone. Stepherson ended the game with three catches for 35 yards. Former walk-on Chris Finke and Justin Brent also caught their first passes.

The run game was equally strong for the Irish, with Josh Adams, Tarean Folston and Kizer combining to rush for 165 yards on 29 attempts for two touchdowns. Adams was the most efficient, collecting 103 yards on nine attempts, but Kizer and Folston had a score apiece. It was Folston’s first rushing TD since the Music City Bowl in 2014.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Irish scored 25 in the second period, their most in a single quarter of the Brian Kelly era. Kelly’s team benefited from some errors on the part of Nevada, who allowed a safety on a kick return when the returner left the end zone, backpedaled and tried to kneel the ball, and when quarterback Tyler Stewart threw desperately right into the arms of defensive lineman Jarron Jones for his first career interception.

On the other side of the ball, the Irish defense enjoyed a strong game after its performance against Texas led many to question Brian VanGorder’s job security. After allowing the Wolf Pack to march 62 yards on their opening drive, Notre Dame stiffened and shut down Nevada until just before halftime, when the game was already well in hand.

Leading the way for the Irish, senior captains James Onwualu and Isaac Rochell had five tackles apiece, while Te’von Coney and Nick Watkins also dragged down Nevada players five times. Jones had his interception, and cornerback Cole Luke had a pick of his own that was negated by a penalty.

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All told, the Irish allowed Nevada just 300 yards of offense on the afternoon, and that’s including an 86-yard touchdown drive in garbage time. The Wolf Pack had 99 rushing yards compared to 88 penalty yards.

It came against an inferior opponent, but a dominant win was exactly what Notre Dame needed, and the Irish went out and executed well Saturday.

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