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Game balls: Five players who starred for Notre Dame in the loss to Marshall

On3 imageby: Todd Burlage09/10/22toddburlage
On3 image
Tight end Michael Mayer is one of 11 Notre Dame players since 2000 with at least 120 catches (Chad Weaver/Blue & Gold).

Defensive tackle Howard Cross III

On a day that the Irish defensive front got pushed around and didn’t have much to brag about postgame, the Notre Dame senior led the Irish and all players with 11 total tackles with 3 solo stops and 0.5 tackles for loss.

Cross was the bright spot along an Irish defensive front that gave up 219 rushing yards on 50 attempts to a team that was without its best running back. 

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Wide receiver Lorenzo Styles

The Irish sophomore was the all-around weapon against Marshall that the Irish faithful and coaches were expecting in 2022.

Styles finished with seven catches on 11 targets for 69 yards. 

Styles was especially valuable in the first half when he recorded receptions of 16 yards and 20 yards, and added a 22-yard gain on a rushing reverse play in the second quarter. 

• Report card: Grading Notre Dame football in loss to Marshall

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Tight end Michael Mayer

A familiar name on this list, the junior tight end led all players with 8 catches on 12 targets for 103 yards and scored his first touchdown of the season on a five-yard pass from junior quarterback Drew Pyne as time ticked away in the fourth quarter. 

Through two games, Mayer already has 13 catches and also leads the Irish with 135 receiving yards. 

Linebacker Jack Kiser 

The Irish senior linebacker recorded 9 tackles with 1.0 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. 

Kiser’s second-quarter sack was critical at the time because it kept the Irish within 6-0 when they could’ve gone down by two scores.  

Safety DJ Brown

The grad student safety played well in pass coverage and also tied for second on the team with 9.0 tackles. 

Additionally, Brown led the team with 5.0 solo tackles, though he didn’t record any pass breakups. 

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