Kizer Finds Smythe, Irish Take Late First-half Lead

It was only Durham Smythe’s seventh catch of the year (‘member tight ends? I ‘member) and second touchdown of his career, but it was a big one. Smythe took a pass off of a bootleg, followed his blockers for about eight yards, and dove into the end zone.

With the touchdown, Notre Dame regained a three-point lead with 30 seconds left in the first half. Kizer is now 10 of 16 for 114 yards and two touchdowns in an up-and-down game. The play capped off a 14-play drive that took 7:13 off the clock. Notre Dame leads in time of possession by nearly three minutes, and has a 227-173 advantage in total yards. The defense has come and go, but they are young and hopefully adjusting to playing against the triple option.

Another big piece of news from the latter part of second quarter is the return of Torii Hunter Jr. after leaving the game with a knee injury. Hunter played for the remaining of the half, and didn’t look to be favoring his left knee at all.