Notre Dame QB Kizer looks to recapture joy, magic of 2015

Notre Dame 9, Syracuse 6 (12:36) – Notre Dame fired Brian VanGorder, but the defensive results looked the same for the Irish on Syracuse’s first possession.

“Good luck, men”, he said.

Notre Dame started the scoring for the game with a 79-yard bomb from DeShone Kizer to Equanimeous St. Orange quarterback Eric Dungey passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for Syracuse’s other three scores. In their three losses, Notre Dame has given up an average of 41 points per game, yet have lost those three game by a combined 14 points. “I think we’ve seen a lot of guys let loose this week and it’s been a real positive attitude”. And they’ve been equally bad against the pass (87th in the nation) and the run (98th). He has more than a few credentials to help turn the shambles that is the Notre Dame defense into something respectable.

The two offenses traded long touchdown passes but the Irish delivered a huge blow when receiver C.J. Sanders returned a kick 92 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. “Just wanted to light up the scoreboard”.

Kelly, though, was able to reach into his own past, though, specifically his catalog from his days at Cincinnati when he ran the break-neck tempo he gradually abandoned at Notre Dame. “So they press. That’s a natural thing”. Notre Dame struggled in Week 1 against Texas’ tempo and the Longhorns and Orange operate at a similar speed. “That’s not always the greatest matchup”, Kelly said.

Assistant Greg Hudson was elevated to replace Brian VanGorder as defensive coordinator, a move by Kelly done purely to create a spark. Following a “mental edge meeting” during the week, players elected to have Hudson lead the singing of the alma mater. “We need to get that morale up on defense and we’ll do that with a lot more players involved in what we’re doing on a day-to-day basis”. For the fourth time this season they have surrendered more than 30 points. Syracuse (2-3) finished with 489 yards of total offense, and in the first half alone scored four touchdowns and had 324 total yards. It was a ideal pass and catch, yes, but it also was crucial to Notre Dame’s momentum.

Considering Notre Dame allowed 38 points in a loss to Duke last week after the Blue Devils scored 38 points in their two previous games, it is safe to assume just about any offense would pose a challenge to the Irish right now.

The Orange failed to keep pace thereon.

Notre Dame’s Jarron Jones didn’t take that too kindly.

Remember when Louisville’s uber-talented quarterback Lamar Jackson graded his ACC-record performance of 610 yards and five touchdowns last month as merely a “C”? Fightin ‘ Irish up 23-20 over Syracuse in the 2nd quarter.

“We weren’t going to affect change unless change was made, ” Kelly said.

Kizer, who led the Irish to nine victories and a No. 11 ranking last season, has lacked the spark that ignited Irish comeback victories last season against Virginia, USC and Temple and near misses against Clemson and Stanford. Jay Hayes went from playing no snaps against Duke to making an impact on the defensive line, while freshmen defensive backs Donte Vaughn, Julian Love and Jalen Elliott played extensively (fellow freshman safety Devin Studstill, a lineup regular this year, was ejected in the first quarter for targeting).

“[The defense] will have more of my stamp on it”, Kelly said. “It was definitely not targeting somebody, but I don’t understand the rule”.