Fighting Irish make easy work of Washington State in San Antonio

 

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Top 25 Overview

It was over when... The first half ended and the Irish were up 30-7 after three TDs in the second quarter. Gameball goes to... Golden Tate. The WR caught a nasty 50-yard pass between two defenders for a TD. Stat of the game... 592-206. The Irish had 592 total yards, nearly 400 more yards than the Cougars. Complete Top 25 Overview

Team Stat Comparison
1st Downs	12	32
Total Yards	206	592
Passing	104	337
Rushing	102	255
Penalties	6-50	8-74
3rd Down Conversions	2-11	6-14
4th Down Conversions	0-0	0-0
Turnovers	2	1
Possession	19:06	40:54

Air/Ground Leaders
Washington State Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Tuel 12/23 104 2 2	Notre Dame Passing   C/ATT YDS TD INT Clausen 22/27 268 2 0 Crist 2/6 69 1 0
Washington State Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Tardy 8 72 0 20 Mitz 5 27 0 12	Notre Dame Rushing   CAR YDS TD LG Hughes 24 131 1 18 Tate 4 61 1 33
Washington State Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Thompson 3 27 0 15 Karstetter 2 19 2 11	Notre Dame Receiving   REC YDS TD LG Tate 4 80 1 50 Goodman 2 73 1 64

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER				WSU	ND
	FG	09:44	Nick Tausch 29 Yd	0	3
	TD	00:14	Duval Kamara 7 Yd Pass From Jimmy Clausen (Pat Blocked)	0	9
SECOND QUARTER				WSU	ND
	TD	09:29	Golden Tate 16 Yd Run (Nick Tausch Kick)	0	16
	TD	04:05	Robert Hughes 1 Yd Run (Nick Tausch Kick)	0	23
	TD	01:16	Jared Karstetter 11 Yd Pass From Jeff Tuel (Nico Grasu Kick)	7	23
	TD	00:00	Golden Tate 50 Yd Pass From Jimmy Clausen (Nick Tausch Kick)	7	30
THIRD QUARTER				WSU	ND
	FG	03:16	Nick Tausch 23 Yd	7	33
FOURTH QUARTER				WSU	ND
	TD	10:01	John Goodman 64 Yd Pass From Dayne Crist (Nick Tausch Kick)	7	40
	TD	05:16	Jared Karstetter 8 Yd Pass From Jeff Tuel (Nico Grasu Kick)	14	40

SAN ANTONIO -- Jimmy Clausen wandered the Notre Dame sideline worry-free with the clock ticking down and a blowout victory minutes away.

For the first time in almost two months, the Fighting Irish could relax in the fourth quarter.

Fast Facts

• Notre Dame is 10-0 all-time against teams from the state of Washington and 15-0 all-time on Halloween.

• Robert Hughes had his first 100-yard rushing game since 2007 for the Irish.

• Washington State dropped to 1-17 vs. AP Top 25 teams since 2004 and 1-7 this season (lost five straight).

• The Irish piled up 592 yards of offense and held the Cougars to 206.

-- ESPN Stats & Information

Clausen threw two touchdowns, including a desperation heave that Golden Tate spectacularly pulled down to end the first half, and Notre Dame clobbered Washington State 40-14 on Saturday night.

The previous six games for Notre Dame (6-2) were nerve-wrackers decided in the final minutes. This time, the Irish had Washington State (1-7) buried by halftime.

"It was a relief," Clausen said. "Close games all the time it kind of gets old."

Robert Hughes ran for 131 yards on 24 carries and had a touchdown, delighting a Texas crowd that was overwhelmingly filled with Fighting Irish fans. The Alamodome blowout debuted Notre Dame's plan to play one offsite home game a year.

Clausen, keeping his name in the Heisman Trophy conversation, was 22 of 27 for 268 yards. The jewel was his 50-yard bomb on the final play before halftime to Tate, who somehow made the grab between three defenders.

Officials reviewed the catch -- perhaps the only time the Irish were in suspense all night. Tate sprung for the ball and tumbled to the ground in a tangled mass, but after the replay booth confirmed the junior had possession, the stadium erupted.

San Antonio might as well have been South Bend, Ind.

"It was probably one of the most phenomenal catches I've seen anyone make, ever," Notre Dame coach Charile Weis said.

Hughes had a career game starting in place of Armando Allen Jr., who has been bothered by a right ankle he sprained a month ago. Standing on the sideline without pads, Allen watched Notre Dame get their most convincing win since routing Nevada 35-0 in the season opener.

Tate's Hail Mary haul was his second sensational score. He earlier went on a 16-yard touchdown run that began with him running smack into two linebackers before spinning around, leaving the would-be tacklers colliding and grasping for air as Tate dashed to the end zone.

Tate finished with 141 total yards. He called his biggest grab luck.

"Just timed the jump," he said.

Washington State freshman Jeff Tuel was 12-of-23 for 104 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jared Karstetter. Tuel was also picked off twice.

After another crushing loss, Washington State coach Paul Wulff took away the almost bowl-like atmosphere as at least one positive.

"I think there is a lot for us at Washington State to gain from this," Wulff said.

After finishing 2-11 last season in Wulff's first year, the Cougars have four games left against Arizona, UCLA, Oregon State and Washington. Washington State beat SMU in overtime but hasn't been close any other week, losing by an average of 25 points.

Notre Dame has had the opposite problem. Six consecutive games decided by seven points or fewer were a school record for Notre Dame, which didn't put away Boston College last week until an interception in the final two minutes.

There were no such worries against the hapless Cougars.

Clausen sat out the fourth quarter after one of his most accurate games of the season. He now has 18 touchdowns on the season to just two interceptions. Weis said Clausen hurt his toe earlier in the game but it was nothing that would've prevented him from going back on the field if needed.

Clausen was replaced by sophomore Dayne Crist, who went 2 of 6 for 69 yards and had a 64-yard touchdown to John Goodman. But Crist was carried off the field in the fourth when the sophomore's left leg got trapped under the 285-pound frame of Washington State defensive end Toby Turpin.

Weis said Crist thought he heard something in his knee when he went down. Crist was to be evaluated on Monday.

Nick Tausch kicked field goals from 16 and 23 yards and set a Notre Dame record with 14 consecutive field goals without a miss.

The Irish didn't sell out the 65,000-seat Alamodome but likely impressed those they wanted to most: sought-after Texas recruits. Notre Dame will play its future offsite home games in Texas, Florida or New York.

The Irish are already scheduled to be back in the Lone Star State in 2013 to play Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium.