Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 SEPT. 18, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT After Notre Dame junior running back Kyren Williams' fumble gave the ball back to Toledo with 3:26 remaining, the Rockets steadily drove into scoring position and had a third-and-one at the Irish 26-yard line. Notre Dame had already burned two of its timeouts and a first down would have allowed Toledo to run the clock down and be in position to attempt a makable game-winning field goal (kicker Thomas Cluckey had already made his first three attempts from 31, 32 and 23 yards). Instead, Daquan Finn broke off a 26-yard touch- down run on a quarterback keeper. The Rockets went ahead 29-24, but the Irish got the ball back with 1:35 remaining. Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan went right to work, connecting with senior wide re- ceiver Kevin Austin Jr. on a 34-yard pass and with sophomore tight end Michael Mayer on a six-yard toss to put the ball on the Toledo 35. The next two plays resulted in incompletions, but Toledo committed penalties on each one to put the ball on the 18-yard line with 1:13 remaining. On the second incompletion, Coan dislocated a finger on his passing hand. Rather than come out of the game, though, he calmly walked to the sideline and had an Irish trainer pop it back into place. Seconds later, he found Mayer again for the go-ahead score with 1:09 remaining. STAT OF THE GAME In order for the Rockets to pull off the upset, it was a necessity for them to win the turnover bat- tle. They did just that, forcing three Notre Dame turnovers and converting them into 17 points. The first one came in the opening quarter when the Irish, up 7-3 at the time, had driven to the Toledo 34-yard line. Quinyon Mitchell came on a corner blitz, sacked graduate student quarter- back Jack Coan, forced a fumble and recovered it. The Rockets went on to kick a field goal. The second came with 58 seconds left in the first half and Notre Dame up 14-9. The Irish had the ball at their 23, but instead of being content with that lead they came out throwing. Coan attempted to get the ball to a double-covered sophomore tight end Michael Mayer, but Toledo cornerback Chris McDonald intercepted the pass and returned it 27 yards for a pick-six touchdown to put the Rockets up 16-14 at the half. The third came with the Irish in the midst of a clock-draining drive after the Rockets had pulled to within two points with 7:48 left. The Irish had a second-and-three at the Toledo 33 when a six- yard run by junior running back Kyren Williams ended with Rockets defensive tackle Desjuan Johnson ripping the ball from his grasp. Toledo recovered the fumble with 3:26 left and promptly converted it into the go-ahead touchdown before Coan's heroics. STILL SEEKING AN IDENTITY Last year, the Irish knew exactly who they were. On offense, they featured the most veteran of- fensive line in school history. The results — 211.1 rushing yards per game — spoke to their physical, ground-oriented approach. On defense, depth along the front four, limiting big plays and getting off the field on third down at a clip that ranked among the best nationally were the calling cards. Two games into 2021, though, Kelly admitted he's not sure about this year's team yet. Replacing four offensive line starters — each of whom resides on an NFL roster — has proven far more difficult than anticipated. Further compli- cating matters are injuries to freshman starting left tackle Blake Fisher (knee) and his replace- ment, sophomore Michael Carmody (ankle). The Irish looked very much like a team on its third left tackle, allowing the Rockets to rack up six sacks and 11 tackles for loss. Defensively, the transition to new coordina- tor Marcus Freeman's scheme hasn't been as smooth as anticipated with younger, inexperi- enced players having to step into larger roles. Kelly understands there is no time to waste in getting it figured out on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame's ability to do so will go a long way in deter- mining how they fare during a five-game stretch against ranked foes from Sept. 25 to Oct. 30. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY STEVE DOWNEY LB JD BERTRAND The junior linebacker was not supposed to be a starter a month ago. Injuries led him to the top of the depth chart at the Will position, and he's made the most of it. Bertrand led the team in tackles for the second straight game, recording 11 each time. Three of those against Toledo were tackles for loss, including the first sack of his career. He also recovered the fumble in the final minute that put the game on ice. QB TYLER BUCHNER What would Notre Dame have done without the debut of its true freshman quarterback? Buchner ran for 68 yards on seven attempts. The first snap of his career was a 26-yard scamper down the right sideline. He also completed all three of his pass attempts for 78 yards and a touchdown — a 55-yard catch-and-run to sophomore running back Chris Tyree on a wheel route. QB JACK COAN The veteran signal-caller had to deal with Buchner's constant involvement in the offense and — wait for it — dislocating his finger on Notre Dame's final offensive possession of the game, and he still tossed the game-winning touchdown to Mayer. Coan finished 21-of-33 passing for 239 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. His 34-yard com- pletion to senior wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. on the first play set the tone for the clutch, game-winning drive. TE MICHAEL MAYER Notre Dame's Mackey Award contender started the game with a four-yard touchdown reception and ended it with his 18-yard score on a seam route over the middle. In the end, the talented tight end led Notre Dame in receiving for the second consecutive week. Mayer reeled in seven passes for 81 yards and the two touchdowns. He also had a team-high 12 targets. DE MYRON TAGOVAILOA-AMOSA The graduate student forced the fumble that Bertrand recovered in the final moments. It was only his second tackle of the game, but it was a big one. Both of his tackles were sacks. Tagovailoa-Amosa was slotted to speak to the media in post-game player availability for the media, but he had to hop online for a virtual version of his father's funeral. Some things are much bigger than football. GAME BALLS BY TYLER HORKA Junior linebacker JD Bertrand led the Irish with double-digit tackles for the second week in a row. He finished with 11 total stops, three tack- les for loss, one sack and a fumble recovery. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER