Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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28 FEBRUARY 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED OFFENSE FALTERS Notre Dame's offense hopped in the ring against a top-10 defense and delivered some early hay- makers. The Irish averaged 7.6 yards per play in the first half, held a 28-7 second-quarter lead and had a stout defense confused. Oklahoma State was down, but not out. And Notre Dame had no move to finish the Cowboys off. In fact, it barely had moves at all. After taking that three-touchdown lead, Notre Dame ran in mud. Until a last-gasp touchdown march in the final three minutes, Notre Dame's longest drive was 41 yards. It turned the ball over twice in the fourth quarter in Oklahoma State territory. The one-dimensional nature of Notre Dame's offense was glaring. Graduate student quarterback Jack Coan set a Notre Dame and Fiesta Bowl record with 68 passing attempts. He completed 38 of them for 509 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground, though, Notre Dame totaled 42 yards and averaged 2.0 yards per rush. Running backs Logan Diggs and Chris Tyree combined for 15 carries and a net of 47 yards. Notre Dame's offense survived and even thrived without a functional rushing operation for a half thanks to a quick passing attack that fit the "ex- tension of the run game" cliché perfectly. Its 1:39 opening drive was all passes. Its third touchdown drive began with eight passes. That well dried up, though, for much of the sec- ond half. Coan completed just 14 of his 35 at- tempts for 167 yards. DEFENSE RUNS ON FUMES Notre Dame's defense was on the field for 95 plays, and midway through the second half, it ap- peared out of gas and short on answers. It surren- dered 605 yards and 6.4 yards per play. After three listless drives to begin the game, Oklahoma State sparked itself by picking up the pace. It caught Notre Dame off-guard at first. Even when the Irish were expecting it, they found them- selves backpedaling. They tried frequent subbing to provide some freshness, but it made little dif- ference. Notre Dame's defensive line couldn't supply enough pressure in the second half. There were missed tackles in the back seven. A lack of second- ary depth, especially at cornerback, was trouble- some. Oklahoma State threw at cornerbacks TaRiq Bracy and Clarence Lewis with frequency. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State quarterback Spen- cer Sanders needled Notre Dame with his legs, averaging 7.4 yards per rush. He gave the Cowboys another way to move the ball on the ground. And after a bumpy start, he completed 23 of 30 passes in the second half. MISSING ITS STARS Notre Dame couldn't find effective or consistent enough ways to provide its corners some help — a task made harder without All-American safety Kyle Hamilton. Playing without Hamilton isn't new for the Irish, but the prior opponents couldn't do enough to make them feel the maximum effect of his absence. Lewis often found himself one-on-one with Okla- homa State senior wide receiver Tay Martin, who racked up 10 catches for 104 yards and three touch- downs. Martin also dropped a potential touchdown after running past Bracy in the first half. Sophomore slot receiver Brennan Presley was a problem as well, with 137 yards on 10 receptions. The Cowboys targeted Presley and Martin a combined 29 times. As intriguing and skilled as Diggs and Tyree are, the absence of a slippery and proficient tackle- breaker against a tough run defense made a dif- ficult task harder. For example, a second-quarter Tyree run went for three yards when an open-field tackler stopped him on first contact. Williams has stepped through those countless times. Earlier, Diggs picked up one yard on third-and-two when he waited a hair too long to pick his lane. TYLER BUCHNER ABSENT For the first time since Notre Dame's season opener, freshman quarterback Tyler Buchner didn't appear in a game. Coan played every snap for the first time since that Sept. 5 debut at Flor- ida State. He was a big reason why Notre Dame cruised in the first half, but the change of pace and run threat Buchner brings has helped before. The Irish sure needed help in the second half. Buchner's involvement is no secret to opponents anymore, especially not in a bowl game with weeks to study film. The way the Cowboys' defensive line won up front, it might not have made a difference. But it was worth a try somewhere when running the ball became a clear exercise in futility. LEARNING MOMENTS FOR FREEMAN Marcus Freeman's debut as head coach pre- sented him with some important in-game deci- sions. Three stand out: • Electing to take a 28-14 lead into the locker room with 37 seconds left and three timeouts when Notre Dame began a drive at its own 25- yard line. • Going for it on fourth-and-six from its own 15-yard line trailing 34-28 with 2:38 left and three timeouts remaining. The Irish did not convert. • Choosing not to sprinkle in Buchner. The first one elicited the most grumbles, and rightfully so. It felt a bit too conservative. The second is defensible, but debatable. There's no guarantee Notre Dame gets the ball back at all or is still down one score if it punts. The third is more about a natural feel that Freeman hasn't yet developed as a defensive coach in his first game running the show. All were reminders Freeman is a first-time head coach who is going to take some time to grow into the role. FIVE THOUGHTS: OKLAHOMA STATE RALLIES PAST NOTRE DAME BY PATRICK ENGEL Freshman running back Logan Diggs and Notre Dame struggled to run the ball against Oklahoma State's stout front seven, averaging just 2.0 yards per carry as a team. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER