TALE OF THE TAPE: In total yards, Notre Dame outgained Ashland, 374-89. NDC's average gain per play was 4.3 yards to AU's 1.5. … The Falcons picked up 144 yards on the ground (43 carries, 3.3 YPC) and 230 yards in the air (21-of-43). The Eagles had minus-9 rushing yards on 33 attempts (-0.3); Ashland finished the game with 98 passing yards (11-of-28). … NDC picked up 22 first downs in the game; Ashland had 10. … The Falcons won the time-of-possession battle, 32:39 to 27:21. The Falcons ran a season-high 86 plays, to the Eagles' 61. … On third-down conversions, NDC was 3-of-16. Ashland was 2-of-14 (AU was also 0-for-3 on a trio of fourth-down attempts). … Notre Dame was penalized eight times for 87 yards, Ashland four for 32. … Defensively, NDC garnered 61 tackles - including 14 for a loss and 10 sacks. Ashland had 63 tackles - 12 for a loss and one sack. Falcon defenders broke up four passes.
HIGH-FLYIN': Through six games, Notre Dame has now outscored their opponents, 238-82. NDC's offense is averaging 39.7 points per game.
TOUCHDOWN CLUB: Ten different Falcons have combined to score 34 touchdowns on the season - 15 rushing, 15 passing, two via special teams and two by the defense. … Three of NDC's five touchdowns on Monday came on plays of 25 yards or longer; the Blue & White have now scored 21 touchdowns of the 25-plus variety this season. … Wide receiver #Marlon Gillis# caught three touchdown passes Monday - he leads the Falcons in TD receptions this season, with eight. Running back #Tim Donald# scored his fifth TD of the season - he now leads the team lead in rushing touchdowns, with five. … Quarterback #Kyle Shaffer# tossed four TDs for a second straight week - he has a team-high 12 touchdown passes this season. ... #Derrick Paster# caught a touchdown pass from Shaffer late in the first half. He has now run, thrown and caught a TD this season. Paster came into the game having run for four scores and thrown for two.
HANKY PANKY: Last week at Wooster (Oct. 11), Notre Dame was tagged for 160 yards on 15 penalties. They cut those nearly in half but were still flagged eight times for 87 yards Monday night in Ashland.
POSTGAME QUOTE
Head Coach #Adam Howard#: “This was a great win for our program. Ashland played quite a few upperclassmen today, and I thought we responded well against that talent level.”
OFFENSIVE NOTES
• Notre Dame's offense has increasingly showed balance, both in play-calling and results. With Monday's four aerial touchdowns and one on the ground, the Falcons have now scored 30 offensive touchdowns this season - 15 on rushing plays and 15 on passing plays. … Over the last two weeks, NDC has run 76 running plays and 76 passing plays.
• For a second straight week, the NDC passing attack featured an array of players on the receiving end. Both last week and in Monday's game, eight players caught as least one pass.
• Marlon Gillis has scored at least one touchdown in each of the Falcons' last four games. Over the last two weeks (Wooster and Ashland games), the 6-foot-2 freshman wide-out from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., has 14 catches for 211 yards and five TDs.
• Notre Dame's offensive line played well in crunch time, as the Falcons ran out their lead in the fourth quarter. In that final frame, NDC ran the ball 15 times and ate up 10:10 of the game clock.
DEFENSIVE NOTES
• NDC held Ashland to a 40 percent (17-of-42) completion rate on pass defense. They held Wooster to the exact same numbers a week ago.
• For the game, Notre Dame forced six three-and-outs. On three of those occasions, Ashland had negative yards for the drive.
• Defensive back #Derrick Smith# led NDC in tackles - he had nine (three solo, six assists). He was also one of four Falcon players to record two sacks in the game.
• NDC had a key defensive stop early in the third quarter after a second blocked punt by Ashland gave the Eagles a first-and-goal inside the Notre Dame 10-yard-line. The Eagles got to the 2 on their first play, but then NDC recorded a tackle for a loss, followed by a sack. The result of the Ashland drive was a short field goal (and a 20-10 NDC lead) instead of a touchdown that could've brought the score to 20-14.
SPECIAL TEAMS NOTES
• NDC's special units struggled in a game that featured two kickoff penalties, two blocked punts allowed, two muffed punt returns, a missed extra point and a missed field goal.
MISCELLANOUS
• Notre Dame is now 3-0 on the road this season and 3-0 at home. The Falcons have one more road contest on their 2009 schedule (Nov. 14 at Xavier).
UP NEXT: The Blue & White return home for a Sunday (Oct. 25) tilt against North Carolina Tech. Kickoff at Korb Field is slated for 1 p.m.
