Players Of The Game From The Notre Dame Victory Over Stanford
Notre Dame (11-1) ended the regular season in impressive fashion, whipping Stanford by a 45-14 score. The Irish had a number of standouts on both sides of the ball, but there were three players that stood out above the rest.
Here are the players of the game from the Fighting Irish victory.
OFFENSE - Jack Coan, Quarterback
Stats: 26-35, 74.3%, 345 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 INT / 1 rushing touchdown
Runners Up: TE Michael Mayer, WR Kevin Austin
A strong case could be made for either wide receiver Kevin Austin (6 catches, 125 yards) or tight end Michael Mayer (9 catches, 105 yards) as players of the game, but I am going with the trigger man. Coan was sharp all night long, executing the Irish game plan and getting the ball where it needed to go.
Coan was decisive when he needed to be, patient when he needed to be and it was one of his best ball placement games of the season. He threw a bad pick and missed an open Chris Tyree on a wide fade that could have been a huge play, but he was pretty spot on most of the night.
Coan finished the game with a 74.3% completion rate, 345 yards (his second highest total of the season) and he accounted for three touchdowns.
DEFENSE - Justin Ademilola, DE - Jayson Ademilola, DT
Justin Stats: 4 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery
Jayson Stats: 5 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack
Runners Up: CB Cam Hart
I couldn't pick between the twins, so I gave them co-players of the game in the win over Stanford. The duo combined for nine tackles, a pair of tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Their impact was felt immediately, with Jayson perfectly reading a tunnel screen on the first third-down of the game and blowing up the play well short of the sticks. That came a snap after he and Kurt Hinish blew up a Stanford run at the line.
Jayson came up with third-quarter sack that killed another drive and tackled quarterback Tanner McKee on another failed third-down attempt. Three of his five tackles came on third-down, which displays his clutch play in the game. When he wasn't making plays, Ademilola led an interior group that was disruptive all night and played a huge role in shutting down the Stanford ground attack.
Justin made his fair share of big plays as well. He executed a stunt in the second quarter and then out-fought and out-hustled a Stanford blocker on his way to a sack of McKee. Justin knocked the ball out of McKee's hands and then recovered that fumble, which set up an Irish field goal. He had a fourth quarter run stuff to add to his tally.
SPECIAL TEAMS - Jonathan Doerer, PK
Stats: 6-6 extra points / 1-1 field goal
The special teams was solid but unspectacular. Veteran place kicker Jonathan Doerer was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra points and 1-for-1 on field goals, accounting for nine points in the victory. Stanford returned just three of his seven kickoffs.
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