Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com FEBRUARY 2023 19 out there for one last time this season with people that I love, my teammates, it's just an unbelievable opportunity, and I'm happy we came out with a win," he added. Notre Dame outgained South Carolina 558 to 352. But because of the turnovers and a special teams touchdown for the Gamecocks scored on a fake field goal, Buchner needed to throw the game- winning touchdown with 1:38 left. He connected with sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans from 16 yards out. Minus the interceptions, Buchner was every bit the dual threat the Notre Dame coaching staff envisioned he'd be going into the season. And the Irish capped the year with a win because of it. "What a tough kid he is to go out there and run the ball like they did tonight," South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said. "They made some nice calls with him, and he's a good athlete. He made some big-time throws, and they certainly caught our young DBs in some plays that were tough on us, and he did a great job of capitalizing on it." FIRST QUARTER SOUTH CAROLINA 21, NOTRE DAME 7 Top Moment: Buchner scampered up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown on third-and-9. It was the first instance of him showing that despite the shoul- der injury, his legs are still very much a threat. Feature Performer: Senior line- backer JD Bertrand had 4 of his team- high 8 tackles in the first quarter. Stats: South Carolina outgained Notre Dame 154-78 in total yards … The Gamecocks ran 24 plays and averaged 6.4 yards per play, while the Irish ran 19 plays and averaged 4.1 yards per play … South Carolina had 7:55 time of posses- sion versus 7:05 for Notre Dame. Items: South Carolina went right down the field and scored on a 10-play, 75-yard drive on the first possession of the game … The Irish followed that up with a three-and-out … Buchner's rushing score tied the game at 7-7 … South Carolina connected on its 23- yard fake field goal touchdown pass to go up 14-7 … Buchner had a pass tipped at the line of scrimmage for a 47-yard interception return touchdown. SECOND QUARTER SOUTH CAROLINA 24, NOTRE DAME 17 Top Moment: Buchner threw a short pass in the flat to sophomore running back Logan Diggs, who dashed 75 yards down the sideline for a touchdown. Feature Performer: Buchner was 5-of-6 passing for 105 yards with the score to Diggs in the second quarter. He also had 2 carries for 22 yards. Stats: Notre Dame outgained South Carolina 125 to 98 in total yards … The Irish ran 15 plays and averaged 8.3 yards per play, while the Gamecocks ran 21 plays and averaged 4.7 yards per play … Notre Dame had 7:48 time of possession to that of 7:12 for South Carolina. Items: Notre Dame took nearly 7 minutes off the clock with its first drive of the quarter, which resulted in a field goal to make it 21-10 … South Caro- lina came back with a field goal on its next drive to regain a two-touchdown edge … Diggs' 75-yard touchdown was on the first play from scrimmage fol- lowing the field goal … Beamer took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty arguing an illegal blindside block on a lengthy kickoff return that was called back … The half was effectively ended with Notre Dame freshman cornerback Benjamin Morrison's sixth interception of the season. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME 31, SOUTH CAROLINA 31 Top Moment: Notre Dame again scored on a one-play drive, this time with Buchner tossing a perfect 44-yard touchdown to graduate student wide receiver Braden Lenzy. That touchdown tied the game at 31-31. Feature Performer: Buchner also ran in his second touchdown of the game in the third quarter. He was 5-of-9 passing for 89 yards through the air in the frame. Buchner accounted for 335 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns(3 passing, 2 rushing) in the Fighting Irish's 45-38 victory over South Carolina in the Gator Bowl. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER