Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1479886
18 OCT. 8, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED Third-year Notre Dame offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has his toughest coaching job ahead of him in 2022. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER WHAT WHAT NOW? NOW? The Notre Dame offense is on a different course after two early losses and a season-ending injury to its starting quarterback BY TYLER HORKA T ommy Rees ran the full gamut of emotions during Notre Dame's win over Cal Sept. 17. Pregame, he was surely con- fident. What college football offensive coordinator isn't? Mid-game, he was turbulently frustrated. Postgame, oddly subdued. There had to be joyous relief in there somewhere when the Irish came out on top, 24-17. Maybe even full-on exultation, but that's not really his style. The stoic demeanor Rees often wears no matter the situation was caught by observers while coaches and players walked off the field and up the north end zone tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium after the game. Fans who were still in the stands likely would have showered him with not-so- nice shouts had Notre Dame lost. Had the Irish had an offensive explosion as charged as Rees' mid-game outburst on the headset screaming at junior quar- terback Drew Pyne, fans would have serenaded him with proud praise. Instead, there wasn't much of any- thing directed at Rees. That's a microcosm of where the third-year coordinator is with the 2022 Irish offense. Somewhere in the middle, leaving people speechless in a way. Is it OK to get angry at the man in charge of an offense that lost its start- ing quarterback to a season-ending shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of Week 2? Is it fair to blame him for Notre Dame ranking 114th in the FBS in to- tal offense with 300.3 yards per game through Week 3 when one-third of that total was the result of a hyper-focused run the ball, limit possessions game plan that worked to an extent against a top- five team in the country in Ohio State