Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 OCT. 29, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Short Field Issues Rarely does a 23-point halftime lead leave you wanting more, but Notre Dame's 30-7 edge at the break did just that despite the offense averaging 6.7 yards per play. Red-zone inefficiency can do that. The Irish had six drives go inside the 20-yard line in the first half, but scored touchdowns on just two of them. They kicked two field goals, had a turnover on downs and turned the ball over once. Field position ensured an up-and-down offensive first half still produced a steady stream of points. Notre Dame started three straight drives inside UNLV's 35-yard line, but came away with a touch- down on just one of them. Those drives totaled 10 plays and 29 yards. The second half contained more of the same. Notre Dame began its first drive of the half on UNLV's 42-yard line, but did not score after totaling 18 yards on five plays. Kicker Blake Grupe's 42-yard field goal attempt hit the left upright. All told, Notre Dame started seven of its first 14 drives in plus territory. It scored touchdowns on just three of them. Eleven of its drives went inside UNLV's 40-yard line, with touchdowns on only five. Three produced zero points. 2. Uneven Drew Pyne This game felt like a get-right opportunity for ju- nior quarterback Drew Pyne, who completed 48.1 percent of his passes in the loss to Stanford Oct. 15. Pyne's numbers were barely better one week later, though. He completed just 14 of 28 throws for 205 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 intercep- tion. That included four completions that were flips to a motioning receiver a foot in front of him. Pyne missed throws he needs to hit more often. He missed ones he has to hit every time. The most notable example of the latter was sailing a would- be touchdown for junior running back Chris Tyree on a seam route where no one was near him. Those are the throws Notre Dame doesn't have the margin for error to not be completions. Pyne threw the interception one play later. Pyne's first three starts weren't a sustainable pace — only four quarterbacks in FBS history have completed at least 74.1 percent of their passes for an entire season. He was going to come back down to earth at some point. The floor needs to be higher than it has been the last two games, though. 3. Defense's Bugaboos Come Up Again Notre Dame's defense is a good unit overall, but it struggles in some of the most impactful areas. The Irish entered the game allowing touchdowns on 78.6 percent of opponent's red-zone posses- sions, the third-highest rate nationally. They were one of three teams to allow a score on every red- zone possession. UNLV scored touchdowns on all three of its trips inside the 20. That's how to make a low rate of red-zone pos- sessions less meaningful. (Notre Dame was tied for the 11th-fewest red-zone trips allowed entering the game.) Notre Dame's low turnover rate, its inability to make plays on the ball and tackling issues all arose in the red zone. The Irish appeared to have UNLV quarterback Harrison Bailey wrapped up for a sack at least three times on a fourth-and-2 scramble in the third quarter, but he slipped out of the tackle attempts to convert. The Rebels scored two plays later. Notre Dame had one tackle for loss and one pass broken up on UNLV's 12 red-zone plays. The occasional chunk plays were also a theme. Notre Dame allowed 299 total yards and 4.9 yards per play — both good bottom lines. Within that, though, were runs of 74 and 47 yards. 6. Ground Heavy Again Notre Dame could lean on its ground game to give it a consistent enough offensive pulse despite the bumpy passing display. The Irish ran 47 times for 223 yards, a stat line more indicative of ef- ficiency rather than explosiveness. But just being one of those was enough. The Irish effectively iced the game with a 13-play, 62-yard drive that featured 12 runs. They leaned on sophomore running back Logan Diggs, who set career highs in carries (28) and yards (130). None of Notre Dame's 47 carries went for a loss. The rushing output was more of a "better than the alternative" display than a dominant one. Win- ning up front was the expectation every game, especially against middling teams. But Notre Dame has seen that alternative run game performance before and offered another game of proof it has put that in the past. 5. Trusting Tobias Another week, more signs of trust in freshman wide receiver Tobias Merriweather. He made his first catch and played a season-high 10 snaps vs. Stanford. That came one week after playing on multiple third downs. He didn't catch a pass against UNLV, but his usage reflects trust. Notre Dame put him on the field during its first drive. Pyne targeted him in the end zone on a third-and-3 pass. He was in on several third downs. He looks like a clear part of the game plan each week. The Irish seem willing to endure any fresh- man bumps because of the unique skill set his brings to the receiver unit. There were bumps in this game, too. On one first-quarter play, graduate student receiver Braden Lenzy turned to Merriweather and told him to go in motion after he didn't appear to know that was his job on the play. He came out and received a stern lecture from wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey on the sideline. But that wasn't the end of his day. He came back in a couple drives later. FIVE THOUGHTS BY PATRICK ENGEL Junior quarterback Drew Pyne completed just 50 percent of his passes (14 of 28) in Notre Dame's win over UNLV. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER