Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 SEPT. 24, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Yes, It's Pyne Time (Now And In November) By Tyler Horka This quote from Pyne in early August says it all. "Something I've always prided myself on is proving everyone wrong, but I want to prove my family and this team right. I don't care what anyone says about me. I'm going to give everything to this game and this team. That's it." Spoken like someone who isn't going to let this op- portunity go to waste no matter the costs. Let's be clear: Just because Pyne wants to succeed as badly as he needs to breathe doesn't mean he's going to be a raging success on the football field. There is so much that goes into offensive production, much of which he can't control. And if he doesn't take care of his own business in spite of an indominable will, then it's all a non- starter anyway. There are going to be bumps and valleys with Pyne at quarterback. He didn't win the offseason quarterback competition against sophomore Tyler Buchner for a reason. Reasons, plural, perhaps. Buchner, when fully healthy and operating in a functional offense (not whatever Notre Dame displayed in the first two weeks of the season), is the better player. But if there was ever a time for the Irish to settle in on something out of the ordinary, it's now — in a season in which College Football Playoff hopes were eradicated before the falling of leaves and when Notre Dame needs a shot of anything to get going offensively. How about a shot of Pyne? No, There Are Too Many Variables With Pyne By Todd D. Burlage I cringed and kept my fingers crossed while watching Notre Dame's first two games while Irish starting quar- terback Tyler Buchner got bounced around like a pinball. Blame it on play calling, O-line failures, heroism or a death-wish, Buchner did all he could to try and lift a stagnant and rudderless offense in both games, self- preservation be damned. For as long as he could. Already sore, battered and licking wounds after his pounding against Ohio State, Buchner took his "thank you sir, may I have another" beating a week later against Marshall. And, to no fault of his own, the inexperienced sophomore didn't hold up and was lost for the season in the fourth quarter against Marshall with a shoulder injury. Buchner, an elusive, sturdy, dual-threat, 6-foot-1, 215-pound, bring-it-on player, didn't make it. And that takes us to 5-foot-11, 198-pound, next man in Drew Pyne. A gifted athlete for sure, Pyne is still 17 pounds lighter and less nimble than Buchner. When Marcus Freeman announced Pyne as Buchner's replacement, the rookie Irish head coach advised followers that the quarterback change wouldn't bring drastic strategy shifts. "I don't see the offense in terms of its entire patch changing," Freeman said. With no strategy changes planned, here's hoping the coaching and player performances around QB2 become better than they were around QB1, or ND will be on QB3. Point ✦ Counterpoint: FOLLOWING TYLER BUCHNER'S INJURY, WILL DREW PYNE BE A SEASON-LONG STARTER? Known for years as the Swiss Army knife of the Notre Dame offensive line, plug-and-play gradu- ate student Josh Lugg has seen and done about all there is to see and do during his six years with the Fighting Irish program. But one thing Lugg never saw or did since arriv- ing on campus in 2017 is start a football season 0-2. A 12-game regular-season starter at right tackle in 2021 — Lugg missed the Fiesta Bowl with an injury — the 2022 starting right guard and the graybeard of the unit took the 0-2 start personally. Through the Ohio State and Marshall games, Notre Dame ranked only 117th in total offense (302.0 yards per game), 110th in rushing offense (103.0 yards per game) and tied for 117th in scor- ing offense (15.5 points per game). Lugg explained last week how cleaning up the early struggles is about attention to detail, and not panic or demolition. Blue & Gold Illustrated and other local media sat down with Lugg before the California game to discuss needed improvements, the mood of the team, and his years at Notre Dame. BGI: How do you work through these difficult times? Lugg: "You just have to find something to im- prove on. Sometimes in life things aren't going to go the way you want. But you've got to stay focused on the details. "And every day, your approach is, 'I'm going to get better at one thing. I'm going to look and see how I can improve my game.' Then you are going to get better, and the results will follow." BGI: What's the message the veteran linemen need to send to the younger guys? Lugg: "If you're think- ing too far out, if you're thinking about what bowl game are we going to be in, what's going to be our ending record. Or, even if on Saturday, 'Are we going to win?' " That doesn't help you improve at all. It's what you do in practice. It's what you do in [the] film [room]." BGI: What's the tempera- ture of the team? Lugg: "I don't think that anybody has any doubt that how we prepared will put us in the right position. It's going to. We know what we need to do. Now, it's about execut- ing, and it starts with me and then it will trickle down throughout the rest of the team. "The sixth-year seniors, the fifth-year seniors need to step up and say, 'Hey, these last two games, these are on me.'" BGI: What's been your assessment when it comes to performance? Lugg: "We watch it, and often it's Notre Dame beat- ing Notre Dame. It's not Marshall beating Notre Dame, or Ohio State beat- ing Notre Dame. Those are the ones that are tough to watch. "[Our coaches] have put us in a position for Satur- day to succeed. Now, it's starting with me, everyone needs to start executing on the details." BGI: How would you de- scribe your time at Notre Dame? Lugg: "It's been an honor, really. This is a special uni- versity. I go through like a wave here where, 'Oh, I've been here for six years. I feel like a townie in a way.' "But then I have months on end where I have this true appreciation for what's going on." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … GRADUATE STUDENT OFFENSIVE LINEMAN JOSH LUGG Lugg, who started 12 games at right tackle last season, shifted to right guard in 2022. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER STEVE ANGELI DREW PYNE