Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1414190
24 OCT. 2, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Notre Dame's starting quarterback Jack Coan had been knocked out of the game with an injury, his backup Drew Pyne — on his second possession in the game — had coughed up a fumble on a sack that led to a go-ahead field goal for Wisconsin and the Fighting Irish trailed 13-10. As head coach Brian Kelly noted in his post- game interview with FOX immediately after the game, things were not looking good for the Fight- ing Irish. But in the blink of an eye, Chris Tyree changed everything. The sophomore running back took the ensu- ing kickoff on the 4-yard line, cut left all the way to the far hash mark and exploded up the field, making Wisconsin kicker Jack Van Dyke whiff on his tackle attempt and outrunning the rest of the Badgers to the end zone to give the Irish a 17-13 lead. That was the start of 31 unanswered points for the Fighting Irish, with the defense taking over from there by forcing four Wisconsin turnovers and scoring twice themselves. STATS OF THE GAME Notre Dame's best path to victory in this one was to contain Wisconsin's vaunted rushing at- tack and make redshirt sophomore quarterback Graham Mertz beat them. Mission accomplished. The Badgers entered the game averaging 266.0 rushing yards per game with an average time of possession of nearly 41 minutes per contest. How- ever, the Irish held them to just 74 yards on 28 rushing attempts (2.8 per carry) and ended up win- ning the time-of-possession battle 31:36 to 28:24. Mertz was forced to put the ball in the air 41 times and completed only 18 passes (43.9 per- cent) while throwing four costly interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns by Irish linebackers Jack Kiser and Drew White in the fourth quarter. In addition, defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola sacked Mertz and stripped the ball from him. Isaiah Foskey's fumble recovery set up another touchdown during the Fighting Irish's explosive 31-point fourth quarter. Wisconsin is now 1-5 in games that Mertz has thrown at least one interception since taking over the starting job in 2020. PYNE TIME With the way that graduate student quarter- back Jack Coan had played in his first three starts (828 passing yards and eight touchdowns) and the excitement that freshman Tyler Buchner in- jected into the Irish offense during the win over Toledo, sophomore Drew Pyne was a bit of a forgotten man. Understandably so, Pyne's contribution to the win over the Badgers will be overshadowed by all the big plays the Irish made on defense and special teams in the fourth quarter. However, he showed everybody why Notre Dame's quar- terback competition was extended into August when Coan was finally named the starter. Prior to this game, Pyne had attempted only three career passes. Versus Wisconsin, he con- nected on 6 of 8 throws for 81 yards with his first career touchdown pass, a 16-yarder to Kevin Austin Jr. that gave the Irish a comfortable 24-13 lead with 9:34 remaining in the game. Coan's injury does not appear serious, but the Irish now know that Pyne is capable of getting the job done if they need to call upon him again. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY STEVE DOWNEY DT JAYSON ADEMILOLA With starting nose tackle Kurt Hinish unable to play, Notre Dame needed the senior defensive tackle to step up — and he did. Ademilola ranked third on the team in tackles with five, two of which went for a loss. Notre Dame's lone sack of the day also belonged to Ademilola, and he forced a fumble on the same play that set up the Irish's second touch- down of the fourth quarter. WR KEVIN AUSTIN JR. A week after being held without a catch on eight targets against Pur- due, the senior wideout reeled in six of nine targets for 76 yards and two touchdowns. Austin caught a 36-yard fade from Jack Coan in the first half and the 16-yard slant from Drew Pyne in the second. Austin was the physical force the Notre Dame offense needs him to be on the outside. CB CAM HART Moments after getting flagged for pass interference on a crucial third- down play, the junior cornerback snagged his first career interception by jumping a dig route. Hart started Notre Dame's string of three straight interceptions in the fourth quarter, too. He didn't record a single tackle, but he didn't have to. It was the best he has looked this season. QB DREW PYNE The sophomore got his first snaps of the season after Coan left the game in the third quarter with a leg injury, and he made the most of them. Pyne connected on 6 of 8 passes for 81 yards with a touchdown. His 16-yard scoring strike to Austin put Notre Dame ahead 24-13 in the fourth quarter. RB CHRIS TYREE It's not often a running back who registers two carries for six yards and one catch for six yards lands on the game balls list, but the sophomore speedster definitely deserves it. Tyree's 96-yard kick return touchdown swung the lead — and the game — in Notre Dame's favor. It affected the Notre Dame sideline in a way only an electric play like that could. GAME BALLS BY TYLER HORKA Senior defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola's combination sack and forced fumble led to Notre Dame's second touchdown of the fourth quarter. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER