North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Gator Bowl Scouting Report
12/29/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 29, 2002
No. 17 NC STATE (10-3, 5-3) vs. No. 11 NOTRE DAME (10-2) in Toyota Gator Bowl
DATE: Wednesday, January 1, 2003
TIME: Kickoff: 12:30 p.m. (EST) Alltell Stadium, Jacksonville, FL (73,000/Natural Grass)
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network. AIRTIME: 11:30 a.m. (EST)
TELEVISION: NBC (National)
OPPONENT--After winning its first eight games, Notre Dame split its last four contests and was beaten soundly by Southern Cal in the regular season finale 44-13 at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The common opponents for Notre Dame and NC State were Maryland, Navy and Florida State. The Irish shutout Maryland 22-0 in its season opener and barely survived against the Middies, winning 30-23, but the way they beat the Seminoles tells a lot about Notre Dame's season.
Tied midway through the third quarter in Tallahassee, the Irish defense sparked a 17-point uprising in a span of only 2:21 to put the game on ice. Linebacker, Courtney Watson, intercepted a Chris Rix pass to set up a 35-yard field goal by kicker, Nicholas Setta. Two plays after the kickoff, Rix fumbled and cornerback Vontez Duff recovered at the FSU two-yard line. Irish tailback Ryan Grant scored on the next play, just 1:17 after the Setta field goal. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, the 'Noles Leon Washington fumbled and linebacker Brandon Hoyte recovered at the FSU 17-yard line. Three plays later, Irish quarterback, Carlyle Holiday threw a 16-yard TD pass to wide receiver Omar Jenkins, only 1:04 after the Grant score. When the clock ran out, Notre Dame had a 34-24 victory.
The ability of the Irish defense to create mistakes and have the offense taking advantage of them is the hallmark of this Notre Dame team. It recorded 33 takeaways this season that led to 105 points (8.8 ppg.) including six turnovers that were turned directly into scores by the defense and special teams.
The Irish finished the regular season 26th nationally in turnover margin (+8), 7th in scoring defense (15.8 ppg.), and 14th in total defense (298.6 ypg.). Also impressive is Notre Dame's ability to stop the run. The Irish were 11th in the nation in that category allowing only 98 yards a game on the ground. Maryland, one of the best rushing teams in the ACC (220.7 ypg.), managed only 16 yards against the Irish. Florida State ran for just 93 yards.
The inside linebackers are the strength of the Notre Dame defense. Senior Courtney Watson leads the team with 90 tackles and also intercepted 4 passes. Sophomore Mike Goolsby had 68 stops and led the Irish in tackles for loss (13). The top pass rusher is senior right end, Ryan Roberts, who recorded a team-high 8 sacks and led the defensive line with 40 stops.
The secondary is led by senior All-America cornerback, Shane Walton, who is seventh in the nation in interceptions (7) and 26th in passes defended per game (1.44). Walton, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist and Jim Thorpe Award semifinalist, has started 23 consecutive games. Senior safety, Glenn Earl, ranks seconds on the team in tackles (78) and posted 11 stops at FSU along with a sack, an interception and a forced fumble.
Offensively, the line that finished the regular season is extremely talented, experienced and has good size. Unfortunately for the Irish, that won't be the line playing in the Gator Bowl.
According to Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Moore, starting tackles Brennan Curtin and Jordan Black "won't be playing" on January 1st. Federal student privacy laws prohibit university officials from commenting on the reasons for their exclusion from the game. Curtin, a senior right tackle with a year of athletic eligibility remaining, has not practiced with the team since postseason preparations began. Black, a fifth-year senior left tackle, has been out since December 19th. Both remain enrolled at Notre Dame, Moore said.
Without them in the lineup, the Irish must replace the bookends of their offensive line, tackles who each started 11 of 12 regular-season games and represent the only significant experience at the position. Jim Molinaro (6-6, 297, Sr.) will start on one side with sophomore Dan Stevenson (6-5, 292), who moved from offensive guard to help fill the void, on the other. Sophomore Mark LeVoir (6-7, 309) also has been receiving increased repetitions to intensify his preparation. Senior center, Jeff Faine (6-3, 298), a Lombardi Award semifinalist, leads the Irish in playing time this season and anchors the line.
Notre Dame averages 316 yards a game offensively with 144 yards of that coming on the ground. The Irish ran the ball almost 200 more times than they threw it this season.
Numbers 3, 4 & 7 make up a potent trifecta for Notre Dame. Those are the uniform numerals of wide receiver Arnaz Battle (6-1, 213, Sr.), tailback, Ryan Grant (6-1, 211, So.) and quarterback Carlyle Holliday (6-3, 218, Jr.). That trio constitutes a majority of Notre Dame's big play potential. Battle leads the Irish in receiving with 48 catches for 702 yards and 5 touchdowns. Grant is the first player at Notre Dame to rush for 1,000 yards since Autry Denson in 1998. Grant finished the regular season with 1,017 yards and 9 touchdowns while averaging 4.2 yards per carry. However, against Southern Cal he was held to only 16 rushing yards.
Holliday took over at Notre Dame's quarterback in the third week of the 2001 season and has held the job ever since. He's athletic, mobile and has a strong arm. His ability to move is backed up by 429 yards gained rushing (232 lost) and 3 rushing touchdowns. Through 11 games this season, Holliday completed 50 percent of his passes for 1766 yards and 10 touchdowns. His top games were against Navy when he threw for 272 yards and versus Rutgers when he tossed four touchdown passes to tie a school record. In the first half of the USC game, Holliday had the thumbnail on his throwing hand nearly ripped off which limited his ability to throw effectively.
The kicking game for the Irish is solid. Punter, Joey Hildbold (5-10, 191, Sr.) and kicker Nicholas Setta (5-11, 177, Sr.) each have three years of experience. Hildbold, a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award, has an impressive career punting average (40.4) and this season punted 74 times for a 39.4 average with no punts blocked. Setta, in the running for the Lou Groza Award the last two seasons, has made 87 consecutive PAT attempts and was 12 of 23 in field goal kicking this season with a long of 51 yards. However, he was only 3 of 10 from beyond 40 yards.
Junior Vontez Duff (5-11, 194) is ranked seventh nationally in kickoff return yardage (27.9), highlighted by his 92-yard runback for a score against Navy. He's also strong on punt returns with a 76-yard TD vs. Maryland. With his game-winning 33-yard interception return against Purdue, Duff joined an elite group, becoming just the fourth player in school history to return an interception, punt and kickoff for a touchdown in his career. Battle also returns kicks (21.0) while Shane Walton is an able back-up punt returner (9 attempts for 85 yards).
Notre Dame does not fold in close games. In fact, the Irish have gone 6-1 this season in games decided by 8 points or less. Six of those games went down to the final seconds with the Michigan (25-23), Michigan State (21-17), Pittsburgh (14-6) and Navy (30-23) contests in doubt until the Irish came up with critical interceptions.
INJURIES--NC State: CB A.J Davis-Out, Fractured fibula; TE Sean Berton-Probable; Broken hand; LB Avery Gibson-Out; Ankle surgery. Notre Dame:LB Courtney Watson-Unknown; Right leg.
