The Sports Xchange
Sep 26, 2015
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Running back C.J. Prosise rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns as No. 6 Notre Dame rolled to a 62-27 win over Massachusetts on Saturday.
Quarterback DeShone Kizer passed for two touchdowns and ran for one more in his second career start. Notre Dame (4-0) compiled 681 yards of total offense, including 457 yards on the ground.
Massachusetts (0-3) trailed 21-20 late in the second quarter before Notre Dame reeled off 41 consecutive points to pull away. The Minutemen have lost six of their last seven games dating to last season.
Notre Dame added to a 35-20 halftime lead with a 16-yard touchdown run by Prosise and a 14-yard touchdown run by running back Dexter Williams to begin the third quarter.
Brandon Wimbush relieved Kizer at quarterback with the score out of hand in the third quarter. Wimbush scored his first career touchdown on a 58-yard run to increase the lead to 55-20.
A 70-yard touchdown run by Notre Dame running back Josh Adams made it 62-20. The Fighting Irish topped 60 points in a game the first time since 1996.
Massachusetts wide receiver Shakur Nesmith hauled in a 33-yard touchdown pass to end the scoring.
Prosise notched a 57-yard rushing touchdown to give Notre Dame a 7-0 lead.
Kizer increased Notre Dame's lead to 14-0 on a seven-yard scoring run with 19 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Running back Marquis Young started Massachusetts' comeback with an 83-yard touchdown run as time expired in the first quarter. Notre Dame defensive lineman Romeo Okwara blocked the extra-point attempt.
On Massachusetts' next possession, running back Sekai Lindsay rushed for a one-yard touchdown to slice the deficit to 14-13.
Notre Dame extended its lead to 21-13 on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Kizer to wide receiver Will Fuller.
Massachusetts quickly answered with a one-yard rushing touchdown by running back Jamal Wilson to pull to within 21-20 with 6:44 remaining in the second quarter.
A 50-yard punt return touchdown by C.J. Sanders increased Notre Dame's lead to 28-20 with 3:21 remaining in the second quarter. Sanders became the first Notre Dame player to return a punt for a touchdown since Golden Tate in 2009.
Notre Dame made it 35-20 when Kizer found wide receiver Chris Brown for a seven-yard touchdown pass with six seconds remaining in the first half.
NOTES: Notre Dame S Matthias Farley started his first game of the season in place of S Drue Tranquill, who tore the ACL in his right knee last week against Georgia Tech. ... Massachusetts WR Tajae Sharpe caught at least one pass for the 38th consecutive game. That marks the third-longest streak in the nation, trailing only D.J. Foster of Arizona State (43) and Alonzo Russell of Toledo (40). ... Notre Dame RB C.J. Prosise eclipsed 100 rushing yards for the third consecutive game. ... Massachusetts QB Blake Frohnapfel surpassed 4,000 career passing yards.