Call On Final Play Annoys Notre Dame

Call On Final Play Annoys Notre Dame

Despite controlling the tempo of the game against Florida State in the first half, Notre Dame still lost due to a single play in the fourth quarter.

The play required Corey Robinson to run towards a defender before moving outside while wide receiver CJ Priosise would move in the opposite direction. The play essentially blocked off the defender. The play worked in the second quarter, which allowed the Fighting Irish to gain a 14-7 lead.

However, it was considered an illegal play in the fourth quarter as officials ruled that Prosise intentionally blocked a defender keeping tabs on Robinson.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly was still annoyed about the call after the end of the game. He said they execute the play every day and it is done legally in the game. He added that coaches never teach illegal plays for any game. Although the team will accept the flag, its disappointment was not easy to ignore. Since the team does not have a strong conference affiliation, its game on Saturday was critical.

The team would have joined the four possible participants in the Playoff if it won against Florida. But, the loss meant the Irish could go down the ranks. Kelly said they were very disappointed since they expected to win against Florida State.

However, the team can still rebound from their loss against Florida. Since two ranked teams, Arizona State and USC, will face the team, it has the opportunity to remove the pain of their loss due to the fourth quarter play in their game against Florida. Wins against these teams and losses by the best teams in the Southeastern Conference and Florida State will give the Fighting Irish an opportunity to be in contention for the top four teams.

Kelly said Notre Dame is a good football team and they are taking the season one week at a time.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Tuesday October 21 2014, 4:19 AM EDT. Ref: USA Today. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0