Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 22, 2022 27 TOBIAS MERRIWEATHER TAKES GIANT STEP FORWARD IN IRISH LOSS Tobias Merriweather stretched his lengthy arms out to each side as if to say, "Are you not entertained?" He did it in the direction of the section of Notre Dame Stadium seats where players' families sit. No doubt his father, Dom, was ges- turing back to him in some way. By bed- time Saturday/early Sunday morning, Dom Merriweather — by far his son's most outspoken supporter — had fired off a combination of six retweets and original Merriweather musings of his own alluding to his son's playmaking prowess. He liked 11. The Fighting Irish freshman wide re- ceiver had a football in his right hand when he struck his pose emulating Maximus from "Gladiator." He was standing in the end zone, his grand stage akin to the fighting grounds of the Ro- man Colosseum. He just reeled in the first reception of his collegiate career, a 41-yard touchdown strike from junior quarterback Drew Pyne. The connec- tion gave Notre Dame a fourth-quarter lead with the ensuing extra point. It didn't matter as much as Merri- weather would have liked. As much as Notre Dame would have liked. The Irish lost to lowly Stanford, 16-14. But not all coming out parties are littered with confetti. Sometimes the start of some- thing spectacular is overshadowed by overwhelming circumstances — like Maximus defeating Commodus in a bout to the death but succumbing to his own injuries and tragically dying shortly after the long-shot triumph. Merri- weather's small win was negatively cast over by a much larger loss. But unlike the fate of Maximus, this is just the beginning for Merriweather. "I think today will be a big confidence booster in him," head coach Marcus Freeman said. Here's a 6-4 wide receiver presence unlike any other on the Notre Dame roster, and yet he could only get on the field for seven snaps in the Irish's first five games. He couldn't draw the eyes of Pyne for a single target on any of those. Something suddenly clicked for Mer- riweather in mid-October. He was on the field for 10 snaps against Stanford. He garnered two passes in his direction; the touchdown and a toss to the left corner of the south end zone midway through the third quarter. Pyne barely overshot him. Notre Dame scored two plays later, but Merriweather could have easily had a two-touchdown night. That's remark- able progress for the player Freeman said just a few weeks ago still needed to earn the trust of the coaching staff to get on the field on Saturdays. Just like that, the coaches trust him to be a featured option. "Both of those two calls were spe- cifically for Tobias," Freeman said. "We were looking for a specific coverage, we saw it, and we called it." The behind the scenes toiling has been plentiful for Merriweather. That's what had to have made the arms wide open moment all the more meaning- ful. He hasn't been reluctantly going through the motions like Maximus when he first started tournament fight- ing. This has been his life for years. If the blazing touchdown on a cover- zero post over the middle was foreshad- owing, his proudest highlight tapes are ahead of him. Soon, he won't have to motion to the fans. He'll know darn well they're en- tertained. "Tobias is a speed demon," Pyne said. "He has really good routes, big target, has great hands. And he's been working his tail off to go make a play like that." CHANCE TO TAKE LATE LEAD SLIPS AWAY FROM AUDRIC ESTIME, NOTRE DAME Audric Estime said his fumble on the goal line late in Notre Dame's win at North Carolina was the first time he has ever coughed the ball up. The sopho- more running back's first career give- away left him sleepless that night, even though it had no bearing on the out- come in a 45-32 Irish victory Sept. 24. He could stew over it and learn from it after a win. The second fumble of his life, though, might leave him without slumber for days. It was a pivotal moment in Notre Dame's 16-14 loss to Stanford. Estime lost the ball in Stanford terri- tory in the fourth quarter, ending Notre Dame's promising chance to wrestle the lead back from the Cardinal. A promis- ing first-down carry became a costly misstep because of a faux pas Estime had made just once before since he first put on pads. STANFORD GAME NOTES BY TYLER HORKA AND PATRICK ENGEL Merriweather's first career catch — a 41-yard touchdown connection with junior quarterback Drew Pyne — briefly gave the Fighting Irish a 14-13 lead over Stanford. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER