College Football 2015 Week 3: Biggest winners and losers

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Sep 19, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets running back Patrick Skov (7) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) and linebacker Greer Martini (48) in the fourth quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 30-22. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Winner: Notre Dame Fighting Irish Defense

The Fighting Irish lost their starting quarterback Malik Zaire for the season last week, and were coming into a game against one of the most difficult to prepare for offenses there is – Paul Johnson’s triple-option and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

With only a week to prepare for the onslaught of cut blocks and last-second pitches, the Notre Dame defense came out and stymied the Jackets, allowing only 216 rushing yards in a 30-33 win over the No. 14 team in the country.

The Yellow Jackets averaged 342 rushing yards per game in 2014, and were already rushing for over 370 per game this season. That was a mammoth defensive effort by the Fighting Irish to shut them down, and solidified Notre Dame as a legitimate top 10 team.

The Irish are ranked 41st in the nation in rush defense, giving up just 134.33 yards per game, 31st in pass defense, giving up only 171 yards per game, and 29th in total defense. But against Georgia Tech, the played like a top 10 defense, and held the usually efficient Yellow Jackets to just 3 of 15 on third down conversions and 2 of 3 on fourth down conversions.

Next: Top 30 College Quarterbacks of All Time

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