Blue and Gold Illustrated

February 2023

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2023 29 ENGEL'S ANGLE PATRICK ENGEL Patrick Engel has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since March 2020. He can be reached at pengel@blueandgold.com L ogan Diggs could sense it. Tyler Buchner, too. The Irish's running back and quarterback could take one glance at Notre Dame's five offen- sive linemen in the huddle and know they smelled blood. It was evident to them in the extra ferocity with which those five tightened their gloves before each play. In the way they stared at South Carolina's defense when breaking the huddle. In what they said during the huddle. One big running lane or sealed edge after another will evoke those feelings — from linemen and backs alike. "I go to the O-line and look at them, and they've got the same look in their eye that I have," Diggs said. "So, we know what time it is." Time to run. Notre Dame doesn't beat No. 19 South Carolina 45-38 in the Gator Bowl with- out 3 touchdown tosses and 274 pass- ing yards from Buchner in his first start since Sept. 10. It doesn't get in position to tie the score without a 20-yard catch- and-run by receiver Braden Lenzy on a fake punt from its own 33-yard line. But when assigning credit for how the Irish were able to grab control of a wonky game in the second half, the run game's awakening should be first on the list. The Irish hung 210 of their 264 rush- ing yards on South Carolina in final two quarters, averaging 7.2 yards per carry in that span. For the game, they had 11 runs of at least 10 yards — three of which gained at least 20. They held the ball for 12:04 in the fourth quarter. "The boys up front were rolling to- day," Buchner said. In a back-and-forth game with four ties, five lead changes and countless heart rate spike alerts, Notre Dame stabilized itself when its best unit took over the game. The Irish's offensive line has been a primary reason for nearly all their nine wins. The injury to Buchner, his ups and downs, and departed 10- game starter Drew Pyne's vacillations required it to lead the winning formula. For all of Notre Dame's flaws this sea- son, it was better on the line of scrimmage than most of its opponents. The Irish can add a ranked SEC team (though without two defensive line starters) to that list. They weren't going to beat South Carolina if they couldn't inflict line-of-scrimmage damage, a reminder head coach Marcus Freeman said he gave his team at halftime. "This game is going to come down to our offensive line and defensive line, and they want that," Freeman said. "They want the pressure on. They want to run the ball in those critical mo- ments, and hats off to them." The Irish saved their best for the final quarter. They took a 38-31 lead on Diggs' 39-yard run, a play aided by right tackle Blake Fisher and right guard Josh Lugg parting the sea. They went 53 yards on the first five plays of their next drive, four of which were runs. Running back Audric Estime's 26-yarder put them in a goal- to-go spot, which ended with 0 points when offensive coordinator Tommy Rees strangely pivoted away from the run. Bu- chner's first-and-goal pass intended for tight end Mitchell Evans instead found USC cornerback O'Donnell Fortune, who rumbled 100 yards for a tying touchdown. The ill-advised throw felt like the lesser of two odd decisions. "At that moment we were running the ball really well," Freeman said. "We obviously shouldn't have thrown it, shouldn't have called it." If that was the suggestion to Rees, he listened. His first four calls of the ensu- ing drive were runs and totaled 30 yards. Diggs supplied 17 on the first play. Nine plays and 7 runs into that drive, though, Notre Dame faced third-and-7 from the South Carolina 16. The Irish could hand the ball off once more, bleed some clock and kick a tiebreaking field goal. That might have been Freeman's thinking or request to Rees in the opener at Ohio State. Not now. Notre Dame went for the haymaker and con- nected on it. Buchner found Evans for a 16-yard touchdown with 1:38 left. The call was a play-action pass they repped in practice all week but had yet to use. It doesn't work without a run threat. "It's like a run concept, so we decided to put a little play action off it," Buch- ner said. "We were going to sneak the tight end out the backside and thought it would be open. It was perfect." Notre Dame's 2022 offense wasn't per- fect. It begs for upgrades, which might soon be on the way in the form of Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Sam Hartman. This wasn't the formula Free- man and Rees envisioned before the sea- son, and probably not one they'd draw up again. But for a final time this season, it was a winning one because the Irish flexed their line-of-scrimmage muscle. ✦ The offensive line of right tackle Blake Fisher (54), right guard Josh Lugg (75), center Zeke Correll (52), left guard Jarrett Patterson (55) and left tackle Joe Alt (76) helped lift the Irish to a Gator Bowl victory. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER Notre Dame's Best Unit Flexes One More Time

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