SOUTH BEND, Ind. — DeShone Kizer could not pinpoint how long the reality of the moment took to sink in. There was no time to think about the transition from being Notre Dame’s backup quarterback to being its full-time starter.
There was no time for emotion, either. Not when Malik Zaire’s ankle broke gruesomely under the weight of a Virginia defender. Not after Zaire was carted off the field, his season over, and Kizer, who spent last season as an understudy to Zaire and Everett Golson, suddenly took over.
A version of that scene has played out six times for Notre Dame this season.