Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com OCT. 22, 2022 45 GAME PREVIEW: UNLV dismal to respectable in this category. Losses to Ohio State and Marshall dropped the Irish rushing offense to No. 110 nationally at only 103.0 yards per game. Since then, Notre Dame gained 287 yards rushing against North Carolina and another 234 against BYU to rank 51st na- tionally at 174.8 yards per game prior to facing Stanford. Sophomore tailback Audric Estime is emerging as the alpha among this talented Irish group. He tallied 31 carries for 231 yards with 2 touchdowns in consecutive wins over North Carolina and BYU. Behind Estime, junior Chris Tyree and sopho- more Logan Diggs provide depth and versatility. Tyree nicely complemented Estime in those two wins with 125 rushing yards, and Diggs chipped in for 17 carries and a career-high 93 yards against BYU. UNLV has done a solid job against the run, allow- ing 124.2 yards per game, which ranked 41st na- tionally heading into play last weekend. Linebacker Austin Ajiake is the leader and the heartbeat of this Rebels run-stop unit. The versatile senior leads the team — and the conference — with 60 tackles, and he's second in the league with 8 tackles for loss. Senior defensive lineman Adam Plant Jr., com- plements Ajiake well with 26 total stops and 6.5 tackles for loss, which ranked fifth in the league through Week 6. Junior defensive back Jerrae Williams is second on UNLV with 31 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, on a team that averages 6 tackles for loss per game. Advantage: Notre Dame NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. UNLV PASS DEFENSE Blame it on injury, inexperience, play calling, pro- tection problems or all of the above when Notre Dame struggled early this season to move the ball through the air. But as the confidence grows each week for junior starting quarterback Drew Pyne, this unit is along for the ride. Pyne completed 22 of 28 passes for 262 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in the Irish's 28-20 win over No. 16 BYU Oct. 8. That solid show- ing moved him to No. 17 nationally in passing efficiency. Since halftime of the Cal game during his first career start Sept. 17, Pyne completed 72.0 percent of his passes with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception over the next 10 quarters. As a weekly cut-and-paste job in this category, Irish All-American Michael Mayer is, and will con- tinue to be, Pyne's favorite target. The junior tight end had the most memorable and historical night of his fine career against BYU with 11 catches — a single-game record by a Notre Dame tight end — for a career-high 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. Mayer also left Sin City as the career reception leader at "Tight End U" with 146 catches, and he is poised to trample all over the Irish record books at the position in the weeks to come. The Irish wide receivers are starting to show Staff Predictions Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 40, UNLV 20 Third-year UNLV head coach Marcus Arroyo made great strides this season with four wins in six games after compiling only a 2-16 overall record during his first two seasons in Las Vegas. UNLV headed into its game last weekend against Air Force with a plus-1.33 turnover margin that slotted it tied for No. 9 nationally in that category. UNLV averaged a respectable 32.7 points scored and 25.3 points allowed through six games. That said, the level of competition hasn't been there for the Rebels in the Mountain West Conference. Expect Notre Dame to control this game early. Steve Downey: Notre Dame 37, UNLV 0 The Rebels have been the surprise team in the Mountain West so far, already exceeding their pro- jected 3.5 win total coming into the season. However, this is a program that has produced just two winning records in the last 27 seasons. Like Marshall, UNLV has successfully mined the transfer portal, most notably landing their leading rusher Aidan Robbins (Louisville) and top receiver Ricky White (Michigan State). Unlike Marshall, though, they don't posses the strength in the trenches to match up with the Irish. I expect Notre Dame to dominate the line of scrimmage on its way to an easy victory. Patrick Engel: Notre Dame 41, UNLV 13 No Marshall redux here against a much less talented opponent. Notre Dame's offensive and defensive lines have carried it since a 0-2 start. The Irish have an identity that starts up front on both sides, a steadier run game and some quarterback stability. None of those were true the last time they played a Group of Five opponent they were expected to handle. Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 45, UNLV 17 The Rebels got out to a quick 4-1 start, but that came crashing down with a 40-7 loss at San Jose State. A ground game that had been pretty good to that point was stymied for 52 yards on 27 carries. UNLV will not have faced a front seven as menacing as Notre Dame's. The Fighting Irish will shut down the Rebels' offense and pile up points on a defense that allowed more than 400 yards in three of four games against North Texas, Utah State and San Jose State. Mike Singer: Notre Dame 42, UNLV 13 The Irish shouldn't have much problems blowing out a mediocre UNLV team at home. While Rebels come into South Bend with a winning record, they lost to the only Power Five team they've faced this season, which happens to be a common opponent — Cal. Senior defensive lineman Adam Plant Jr. compiled 26 total stops, 6.5 tackles for loss and a team-best 3 sacks in UNLV's first six contests this season. PHOTO COURTESY UNLV