SOUTHBEND, Ind. — Last week Logan DiggsIt was Audric Estime’s back, lifting his fellow running back up after a disastrous fourth-quarter fumble ended Notre Dame’s last best chance to beat StanfordThe Irish were unbeatable in this game. Estime, however, lost his third game on Saturday with a fumble. UNLVThere was no pat on the head.
Sometimes leadership doesn’t mean support. Sometimes, leadership can also mean intolerance.
That moment arrived early in the second quarter of Notre Dame’s 44-21 win over UNLV when Estime cradled the ball in his left arm until safety Jonathan Baldwin — who is listed 40 pounds lighter than the Irish running back — separated him from it. UNLV recovered but didn’t do anything with the turnover, running three plays, losing 12 yards and punting. That wasn’t the point. Notre Dame was left with a line in its sand when this moment came. Estime didn’t get another carry the rest of the game, and no one feigned confusion as to why.
“So last week I was kind of on the side of it’s going to be all right. Just keep on doing your job,” Diggs said. “Keep being better. But today I was a real teammate and told him, for real, if you want to play, you’ve got to hold on to the ball.
“It’s as simple as that. It is mutual respect and love that we share. I could tell him anything, and he could tell me anything.”
Notre Dame could probably use a little more hard truth during the season’s final five weeks because the Irish look like a program that could stretch for eight wins or barely qualify for a bowl. The Irish displayed their true colors against a hapless Mountain West squad on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. This was the second time Notre Dame Stadium has been sold out in this season’s history. They’re a flawed team with enough talent to put almost everything in doubt, good or bad.
Two blocked punts by UNLV helped to put UNLV out of business. Isaiah FoskeyAnd three sacks. Michael Mayer being Notre Dame’s best (and sometimes only) option in the pass game and Diggs posting a career-highs of 28 carries for 130 yards, Marcus Freeman got honest with himself and his roster. Notre Dame may now be at the acceptance stage. It all began in Columbus with such promise. Six games of whiplash followed.
“We needed this for our mentality … and we are a good team,” Freeman said. “I’ve said that before. We are a good football team that doesn’t always play that way. It’s our job as coaches to get our team to perform this way.”
Freeman continued to speak up UNLV. UNLV was without its starting quarterback or running back. UNLV had been outrun by bigger margins over the past two weeks. San Jose StateAnd Air Force. Maybe Saturday’s statements were not entirely truthful. Freeman, however, didn’t look at the positives as he won his second home victory of his career. He was clear that Notre Dame must improve if it is to redeem its season.
“That’s where we are as a team,” Freeman said. “We have to continue to get better, right? You’re talking about the ebbs and flows of a season to get us to this point where you see it in a game. You see it within series.”
With a better offensive start, Notre Dame could have avoided this. The Irish started four possessions within Rebels territory with the aid of Foskey punt block blocks. This was just the first quarter. These were short-lived with just three field goals and one touchdown. Notre Dame didn’t allow any doubts to linger all afternoon. UNLV may never have been in position to win the game, but the Rebels weren’t a prop for the Irish either, never having the look of a get-well card wearing shoulder pads.
Although Notre Dame led by 30-7 at the halftime, Freeman was not impressed. There was the Estime fumble that led to the sophomore back’s benching. There was an apparent helmet-tohelmet hit. Drew PyneAt the goal line, it looked as if the quarterback might be knocked out of the game. Pyne gave way to Steve AngeliFor three snaps. The freshman didn’t attempt a pass and didn’t even handle the ball on his first play, a direct snap to tight end Mitchell EvansThis was for a one-yard touchdown.
Pyne returned one more time, but he wasn’t quite the same with the ball. Pyne was 8 of 17 for the 155 yard and Mayer’s 20-yard touchdown. He was 6/11 for 39 yards after the goal-line touchdown. There was one touchdown and one intercept that probably should not have been reversed by replay. Only 11 yards were gained from his post-hit pass output. Braden Lenzy.
Notre Dame made a candid assessment of its quarterback position, where Pyne has not been able to match his performance against them. North CarolinaAnd BYU. These games had caveats regarding Pyne’s possibility of holding the starting position next year. Tyler BuchnerHe is now healthy. Now Notre Dame is talking about trying to boost its quarterback’s confidence, never mind his actual play.
“I know Drew pretty well. I know when he’s down. I know when he’s up. I know when he’s in the middle,” Mayer said. “I know when he needs a slap on the butt to say, ‘Let’s go, we’re still in this thing. Let’s drive down the field. Let’s go score.’
“I think it’s important because he does get down sometimes, and I think he does need some people to lift him up sometimes … because we need our quarterback to have confidence. He had confidence today, and we need to keep that rolling.”
There wasn’t much about Saturday that felt easy for Notre Dame. And Freeman accepted that postgame, which doesn’t mean he endorsed it. The Irish lack a quarterback and are poor at receiving, as well as being inconsistent on defense. They also have the best tight end in college football, a future NFL defensive end, a running back playing himself into the lead back in a talented room and a punt block team that’s a real weapon.
It’s not that everything is askew for Notre Dame. It won a football match in the midst of a difficult season. Freeman can celebrate that without being accused of overlooking the program’s issues. It’s all just not quite what the head coach expected.
“It’s never going to be perfect,” Freeman said, referencing Pyne, though he could have been talking about the program as a whole. “We’re confident. Let’s go out there and execute.”
Notre Dame was able to do enough against UNLV. It also knows what was sufficient on Saturday won’t be moving forward.
(Photo: Matt Cashore / USA Today)
