Ed. note: Chat Sports has conducted a full simulation of the upcoming college football season in the hot new game EA Sports NCAA Football ’14. Be sure to check back here for more results, as well as game reviews.
Fresh off a National Championship appearance, the Fighting Irish suffered through a disappointing 9-4 year in a simulation of the upcoming 2013 college football season conducted by Chat Sports in the game EA Sports NCAA Football '14, including a three point loss to No. 4 Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
Notre Dame reeled off three straight wins to start the season, including a domination 31-14 victory over No. 21 Michigan in Ann Arbor. But they were bested in South Bend by Michigan State in a rough 28-21 loss in which the Irish turned the ball over three times and surrendered 228 rushing yards.
But the Irish rebounded with a dramatic and impressive 45-42 win over No. 3 Oklahoma, the Sooners' only loss of the year. Tommy Rees threw for 270 yards and 2 TDs and AUSTIN had 9 receptions for 132 yards, catching one of Rees scores.
And yet, right after that the Irish laid an egg in a neutral site game against Arizona State at Cowboys Stadium as Rees threw three interceptions.
Rees and the Irish bounced back, however, in a thrilling 21-20 win over USC. Rees threw for 231 yards and 2 TDs, with REID being his top target with 110 receiving yards. Including its win over USC, Notre Dame ran off five straight victories before stumbling at No. 20 Stanford. Again, turnovers plagued the Irish, who surrendered the ball four times in a 31-17 loss.
Still, Notre Dame found itself ranked 8th in the final BCS standings and headed to the Orange Bowl to take on then-N0. 7 Clemson, winners of the ACC. Down 28-14 at halftime, the Irish fell three points short of the comeback in a 38-35 loss.
Defensive End Stephon Tuitt and defensive tackle Louis Nix III were both named First-Team All-Americans after the season.
FINAL STATS
Passing:
Tommy Rees: 198-381, 2712 yards, 22 TDs, 20 INTs, 226.0 YPG, 33 sacks
Everett Golson: 33-59, 490 yards, 6 TDs, 3 INT, 163.3 YPG, 3 sacks
Rushing:
George Atkinson III: 197 attempts, 1073 yards, 11 TDs, 5.4 YPC, 82.5 YPG, 1 fumble
Tommy Rees: 120 attempts, 274 yards, 3 TDs, 2.2 YPC, 22.8 YPG, 2 fumbles
Greg Bryant: 50 attempts, 264 yards, 2 TDs, 5.2 YPC, 20.3 YPG, 1 fumble
Amir Carlisle: 44 attempts, 190 yards, 2 TDs, 4.3 YPC, 31.6 YPG, 1 fumble
Everett Golson: 23 attempts, 187 yards, 1 TD, 8.1 YPC, 0 fumbles
Receiving:
T.J. Jones: 60 receptions, 957 yards, 3 TDs, 73.6 YPG
Troy Niklas: 40 receptions, 568 yards, 4 TDs, 43.6 YPG
DaVaris Daniels: 34 receptions, 399 yards, 7 TDs, 30.6 YPG
George Atkinson III: 31 receptions, 422 yards, 4 TDs, 32.4 YPG
Chris Brown: 31 receptions, 337 yards, 3 TDs, 30.6 YPG
Daniel Smith: 13 receptions, 250 yards, 5 TDs, 20.8 YPG
Tackles/Sacks:
Stephon Tuitt: 71 tackles, 35 solo, 26 tackles-for-loss, 10.5 sacks
Prince Shembo: 68 tackles, 32 solo, 12 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks
Dan Fox: 66 tackles, 33 solo, 10 tackles-for-loss, 0.5 sacks
Jarrett Grace: 59 tackles, 18 solo, 11 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks
Louis Nix III: 53 tackles, 25 solo, 14 tackles-for-loss, 7.0 sacks
Sheldon Day: 44 tackles, 22 solo, 8 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks
Interceptions:
Bennett Jackson: 4 interceptions, 78 yards
KeiVarae Russell: 2 interceptions, 94 yards
Matthias Farley: 2 interceptions, 50 yards
Elijah Shumate: 2 interceptions, 8 yards
Dan Fox: 2 interceptions, 6 yards
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