BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED : MSU @ ND Final - MVPdrose1's Dynasty

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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED : MSU @ ND Final

Posted on September 26, 2011 at 12:07 PM.

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September 17, 2011

Irish pick off Spartans
Harrison Smith and defense hold MSU scoreless in second half
MSU 13 ND 31

Harrison Smith intercepts Kirk Cousins for the second time.

Coming into Saturday, Michigan State was ranked 13. For the Irish, this was a huge game. After falling out of the top 25 at the hands of Denard Robinson and the Wolverines, Notre Dame could take a significant leap back towards the rankings. They did just that. While it is still unknown what this will actually do for coach Brian Kelly and the Irish, it was certainly a dominant performance.

Ethan Johnson sacks and forces a fumble on Kirk Cousins.

Being back at South Bend seemed to inspire the Irish defense. In the first half, they halted two drives by the Spartans and limited them to two field goals. Tommy Rees was able to hook up with TJ Jones for a 36 yard touchdown in the first quarter. With just over a minute left in the second quarter, Irish was up 10-6. MSU quarterback Kirk Cousins then led the Spartans down for a touchdown. He hooked up with Keshawn Martin for a 22 yard strike. Spartans went up 13-10 heading into the locker room.

Cierre Wood ran for 170 yards and scored twice.

After the break it was all Notre Dame. Cierre Wood scored twice in the first four minutes of the third quarter. He broke off runs of 56 and 33 yards. Cousins was harassed the rest of the game. The Irish defense did not give up another point. Harrison Smith picked him off twice in the second half. Jonas Gray added another touchdown in the fourth to close things out. It was a big, big win for Notre Dame.

Michigan State Spartans at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Sep 17, 2011	1	2	3	4	F
#13 MSU (2-0)	3	10	0	0	13
ND (1-1)	7	3	14	7	31

Top Performers

PASS: T. Rees - 12/20, 150 yds, TD

RUSH: C. Wood - 21 car, 170 yds, 2 TD

REC: K. Martin - 4 rec, 88 yds, TD

Team Stats Comparison
	MSU	ND
First Downs	19	14
3rd Down Efficiency	6-16 (37%)	5-12 (41%)
4th Down Efficiency	0-2 (0%)	1-1 (100%)
Total Yards	396	369
Passing Yards	215	150
Rushing Yards	181	219
Penalties-Penalty Yards	4-20	0-0
Turnovers	4	2
Time of Possession	19:19	23:40

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER SCORING		MSU	ND
4:50	(ND) TD ND: T. Jones, 36 yd pass from T. Rees	0	7
2:40	(MSU) FG MSU: D. Conroy, 38 yd FG	3	7
SECOND QUARTER SCORING		MSU	ND
6:49	(ND) FG ND: N. Tausch, 28 yd FG	3	10
4:21	(MSU) FG MSU: D. Conroy, 21 yd FG	6	10
0:51	(MSU) TD MSU: K. Martin, 22 yd pass from K. Cousins	13	10
THIRD QUARTER SCORING		MSU	ND
8:14	(ND) TD ND: C. Wood, 56 yd run	13	17
6:15	(ND) TD ND: C. Wood, 33 yd run	13	24
FOURTH QUARTER SCORING		MSU	ND
0:54	(ND) TD ND: J. Gray, 7 yd run	13	31

Michigan State Spartans
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
K. Cousins	15/29 (51%)	215	1	3
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
E. Baker	28	125	4.4	0
L. Bell	6	13	2.1	0
K. Cousins	5	-2	-0.4	0
A. Setterbo	3	31	10.3	0
L. Caper	2	5	2.5	0
K. Nichol	1	9	9.0	0
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
K. Nichol	4	65	16.2	0
K. Martin	4	88	22.0	1
E. Baker	2	14	7.0	0
D. Hoebing	2	25	12.5	0
B. Fowler	1	10	10.0	0
L. Bell	1	4	4.0	0
A. Setterbo	1	9	9.0	0
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
J. Jones	11	0.0	0	0
J. Worthy	8	2.0	0	0
M. Bullough	7	0.0	0	0
C. Freeman	4	1.0	0	0
T. Hoover	4	1.0	0	0
D. Dennard	4	0.0	1	0
KICKING	FG	XP	PTS	LG
D. Conroy	2/2	1/1	7	39

Notre Dame Fighting Irish
PASSING	C/A	YDS	TD	INT
T. Rees	12/20 (60%)	150	1	1
RUSHING	ATT	YDS	AVG	TD
C. Wood	21	170	8.0	2
T. Rees	11	4	0.3	0
J. Gray	8	45	5.6	1
RECEIVING	REC	YDS	AVG	TD
M. Floyd	4	68	17.0	0
C. Wood	3	5	1.6	0
R. Toma	3	37	12.3	0
A. Welch	1	4	4.0	0
T. Jones	1	36	36.0	1
DEFENSE	TACK	SACK	INT	TD
D. Fleming	13	0.0	0	0
M. Te'o	9	0.0	0	0
J. Slaughter	9	0.0	0	0
L. Wood	8	0.0	0	0
G. Gray	6	0.0	1	0
P. Shembo	5	1.0	0	0
H. Smith	1	0.0	2	0
KICKING	FG	XP	PTS	LG
N. Taush	1/1	4/4	7	29