Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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6 NOV. 20, 2021 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY PATRICK ENGEL T yler Buchner was cleared to go back in the game, even though he hobbled off the field with an apparent ankle injury moments prior. The freshman quarterback had just thrown his second inter- ception in three drives in Notre Dame's game at Virginia Tech Oct. 9, which he entered in place of graduate student starter Jack Coan after three listless possessions. Buchner had his longest leash yet. And he pulled the offense out of its prolonged stagnation before the two second-half miscues. Notre Dame trailed 29-21 with 3:55 to go after a Virginia Tech touchdown. It needed points and needed them fast. Stick with Bu- chner, right? Missteps aside, he was responsible for all the scor- ing drives. The Coan-led offense, meanwhile, had generated 10 points in its last 16 drives, includ- ing eight straight scoreless possessions. Head coach Brian Kelly saw it differently. "There was a conversation about, 'Is Tyler good to go?' Our medical staff said he is," Kelly said. "Then we said, 'No, this moment's for Jack.' He was coming back in the game." With that, the twice-benched starter took the field. Coaches and players publicly say they expected all along Coan would lead two scoring drives and deliver a 32-29 comeback win. But with each passing week of functional offense under Coan's command, it's hard not to take them at their word. It's re-enforced upon a deeper probe into why Coan could, quite literally, pick himself up off the turf and offer something different. Those two drives turned into a jump- ing-off point for an offensive identity that has proved sustainable, at least against the schedule Notre Dame has played. Out went the downfield-oriented, long- developing plays. In came a quick pass- ing game and higher-tempo attack. The moment called for both. Notre Dame has stuck with that approach. "The epiphany for us was the Virginia Tech game where we put him back in," Kelly said. "We get him in the two-min- ute and now he looks great. We're like, 'We've got this figured out. Let's shorten his drop, get his feet moving quickly and get him through his progressions." Notre Dame won that game, and the next three, with Coan in the middle of that success. Since his re-entry, he had completed 66 of 90 throws (73.3 percent) for 764 yards with four touchdowns and one intercep- tion heading into the Nov. 13 road game at Virginia. Notre Dame is getting what it envi- sioned from Coan, even if it took the Lewis and Clark route to get there. And even if that journey reached an unexpected destina- tion. Coan has processed every- thing without breaking stride. "They've put that plan on the field for us," Coan said. "It's our job to go execute it." 'HE'S NEVER OUT OF THE GAME' A month later, some fascinat- ing questions remain from that night. How could Coan shake off two straight removals and sud- denly transform from apparent hindrance to helping hand? A benched quarterback is rarely tasked with trying to win a game from which he was pulled with- out an injury to his replacement. Why did Notre Dame feel comfortable asking that of Coan? Why were teammates and coaches unwavering in their belief he could do it? Start by asking his primary competitor. "He was more than I could ever ask for in that game," Buchner said. "Every time I'd come off the sideline, we would talk, and he'd help me out. There's a great photo of all the quarterbacks after the first touchdown drive when we came off showing how we were all really excited." One week earlier, after his benching in the Irish's loss to Cincinnati, the NBC broadcast captured a moment where Bu- chner, Coan and sophomore backup Drew Pyne were laughing and smiling together following a Pyne-led touchdown drive. UNDER THE DOME 'THIS MOMENT WAS FOR JACK' Quarterback Jack Coan turned a tough moment and difficult task into an 'epiphany' for the Irish offense Coan bounced back from a benching and helped Notre Dame win at Virginia Tech Oct. 9 — and gave the Irish an offensive identity. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN