Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 30, 2024 17 "It's something that every offseason and throughout the season, [I] defi- nitely dive into and then just see and talk it through with Coach [Freeman] and see where he's at with it," Biagi said. "And if he's on board, then we start to continue building it." Personnel has everything to do with Biagi's ideas. The Virginia fake was al- ways designed for Faison. Even Kiser's role was a long time coming; the graduate student linebacker was a triple-option quarterback in high school. Ever since he learned that, Biagi wanted to use it. "That's the good part of being the spe- cial teams coordinator," Biagi said. "You get to build relationships with so many people on the whole team and hear their history, so then you start to see where it could help you in certain situations." Love's involvement stems from be- ing one of Notre Dame's gunners on the punt team in normal situations, so his presence on the field — even as one of the most elusive running backs in the country — doesn't raise red flags. Buchner's fake was born in May, when he rejoined the football team after spending the spring playing lacrosse. "When Coach Freeman came back in the summer and knocked on the door and told us all that Tyler was coming back, we said, 'OK, let's find a way to use him,'" Biagi said. The Irish put Faison's play on the shelf after the Sun Bowl, but they re-installed it after using two fakes against Georgia Tech. With the offense in a rut and the first half dying down, they thought Week 12 was the right time to bring it out. "When you practice something for weeks, the players are dying to run it," Freeman said. Their reactions told a similar story. NEVER HOLDING BACK The day after Notre Dame ran two successful fakes against Georgia Tech, Freeman met in his office with a player who didn't travel for the game. That player likely had more serious things to discuss, but he also made it clear to Freeman that the reverse to Love meant something to him and his team- mates. These plays, that conversation proved, have an effect on morale. "Coach, every time you guys went on punt, I wanted to see if you guys were going to run the fake, and we went crazy when you did," the player told Freeman. "It ignites a team," Freeman said. Given that special teams is the phase everyone is involved with, a special play on special teams brings a team together, Freeman explained. The Irish coach- ing staff firmly believes that happened against Virginia, even though the play was called back. On the Cavaliers' ensuing possession, sophomore safety Adon Shuler came up with an interception. Notre Dame outscored Virginia 14-0 the rest of the half and entered the locker room with a 28-0 lead. "Going with our slogan of 'chaos kills,' what I really felt like it did is worst-case, it created a spark in the stadium and the atmosphere for our players," Biagi said. "And then you see what's a real credit to the guys is, our whole punt team had to come right back, and we still flipped the field. Forced a fumble and it just re- ally got the energy, I felt like, going for a good finish to the first half." As for the idea to save fake kicks for "bigger" games, that has always been a non-starter for Freeman. Aggressiveness is something the third- year head coach preaches to his team ev- ery week. He believes that in order to do that, he and his assistants have to back it up with actions. That's in his mind when he decides to go for it on fourth down more than the average coach, as well as when he pulls the trigger on a fake punt. What message would it send to his team if Freeman said, "Hey, this is a great fake but we're going to hold it for if we make the playoff?" he wondered aloud. That will never happen under his watch. "I don't ever want to be a program that holds back," Freeman said, pound- ing the lectern with his fist. "All in. Ev- ery play, every game." If that means Notre Dame has to come up with a new fake, Freeman proclaimed, then it will come up with a new fake. "It's a great challenge that, guess what, we've got to come up with something better," Freeman said. "And we've got the coaches and the players to do that." ✦ Even though the play was called back by a questionable pen- alty call, sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison's 73-yard touchdown run on a fake punt "ignited" the Fighting Irish in their 35-14 win over Virginia Nov. 16. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER