Notre Dame cornerback Terrail Lambert guards freshman wide receiver B.J. Cunningham as he tries to catch a touchdown pass in the second quarter Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Lambert was charged with pass interference despite the incomplete pass.
For two straight weeks, the MSU defense laid low and pressured the quarterback solely with a four-man rush, dropping linebackers and the secondary back into coverage. The Notre Dame offensive line and quarterback Jimmy Clausen learned Saturday what can happen when the Spartans’ linebackers and cornerbacks are let loose at the line of scrimmage.
Clausen was sacked three times Saturday after escaping the first two Fighting Irish games without hitting the turf for a loss.
The Spartans consistently brought extra pressure from the middle and corners for the first time this year, fooling Clausen and an offensive line that struggled with protection.
MSU added six tackles for loss to the three sacks and two interceptions for its most productive game on defense.
“(The coaches) told us coming in that we were going to try and pressure them more and fluster them,” said junior linebacker Adam Decker, who recorded eight tackles with one-and-a-half for a loss. “He’s a good quarterback when he sits back there, and our goal is to come in and get a lot of hits on him and pressure him and help out our secondary. All of the linebackers and the front seven did a great job of that.”
MSU was able to bring more heat on Clausen after shutting down Notre Dame’s rushing attack. The Irish ran the ball on their first seven offensive plays to start the game but only handed off to a tailback eight times through the next three-and-a-half quarters.
“Our kids did a great job making them one-dimensional,” MSU defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi said. “When you’ve got to throw it every time, you’re in trouble.”
Getting ‘Jacked Up’
When the MSU coaches look back at the film from Saturday’s game, they won’t have a shortage of candidates for the weekly Jacked-Up Hit Award.
Coaches offer certificates for the Jacked-Up Hit Award to three or four players each week who lay down big hits, an honor that MSU head coach Mark Dantonio excitedly called “a great award.”
The certificates are handed out the night before the Spartans’ next game when the team stays at Kellogg Center or another hotel on road weekends.
“It gets everyone wanting to go out and hit some people,” said sophomore linebacker Eric Gordon, who recorded one tackle and recovered a fumble this week. “It’s motivating.”
Candidates for the award this week should include senior safety Otis Wiley for a cold shoulder he laid on a Notre Dame runner, and defensive end Brandon Long for a devastating hit on Clausen after a throw.
Hoyer solid despite numbers
MSU coaches promised more balance against the Irish and delivered with 26 passes. Although senior quarterback Brian Hoyer didn’t complete half of his passes for the third time this season, Spartans receivers struggled to make catches and Hoyer smartly threw away a few passes.
“I thought Hoyer played well,” Dantonio said. “There were a couple drops in there where the ball was on the money. Sometimes they pressured. They have a very much improved football team and they did a good job pressuring.”
Hoyer called his performance “all right” and said he would have liked to have a few passes back, but will take the win over a rival team.
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