It was a surprising game in many ways. The great receivers for the Japan team never got loose for a long one. The much feared Noriaki Kinoshita ended up with only 3 catches, the longest for 14 yards on Curl route for a first down- and that was the extent of the damage he did to Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish did their fighting on the ground- they completed a grand total of one (1!) pass in the air that went for 7 yards (and was marked back 10 yards for holding on the play). The second half ofthe game, the Irish took control with their ground game, running the ball 49 times for 271 yards; breaking tackles numerous times. Jay Vickers was the MVP for the game, carrying 'the rock' 16 times for 139 yards and 1 TD, the longest a 77 yard run on an Inside Zone that he cut back and took nearly to the goal line, setting up a Tony Rice TD that made it 10-3.
Besides the problems handling a more physical Irish team, Japan's QB's (Takata and Sugawara) had significant trouble with the Notre Dame pass rush- they were unable to deliver the ball deep; suffered hurried and errant throws, and several dropped balls as well. As Notre Dame DC told me after the game- "that was our game plan; to really our DL loose. we told them they would have a lot of fun this week." Japan was 20-45 and 179 yards, with 3 interceptions and several sacks, including one safety early in the 3rd that seemed to take the wind out of their sails. Frankly speaking, intensity and emotion seemed to be missing from the Japan sideline for most of the game.
The crowd on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the game. The Notre Dame 'tailgate' BBQ party with free-flowing beer out in front of the Dome put many in a good mood, and the marching bands and various camera gimmicks- including the Kiss Cam- created a fun atmosphere; though the animated scoreboard shorts interrupted the replays way too often.
