Notre Dame QB Pyne fuels resurgent Irish offense as No. 16 BYU looms
SOUTH BEND, IND. — Quarterback Drew Pyne has given Notre Dame’s offense exactly what it needed.
Hope amid change.
He is 2-0 since replacing the injured Tyler Buchner, has the Fighting Irish back at .500, is leading a major midseason turnaround and seems to be winning over coach Marcus Freeman.
“It’s been really good to see Drew, number one, make good decisions,” Freeman said. “That’s the most important thing at the quarterback position, you’ve got to make the right decision. Number two, he’s limited his turnovers, he’s taking care of the football. Number three, he’s starting to make a lot of plays.”
The plan seems to be working wonders for an Irish offense that sputtered early.
It helped the then winless Irish grind out a badly needed victory over California three weeks ago. Notre Dame used the momentum to fuel its best offensive performance this season at North Carolina when Pyne went 24 of 34 for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Notre Dame finished with 45 points and 576 total yards, both season bests.
Now, after a bye week, Pyne hopes to continue his hot streak Saturday against No. 16 BYU (4-1) in Las Vegas. The Irish are 3 1/2-point favorites, according to Fanduel Sportsbook, and a third consecutive win might not just turn heads but also get the attention of poll voters.
And all of it started when things looked bleakest as Notre Dame scored just 31 points combined in back-toback losses to Ohio State and at home against Marshall. Those defeats sent their preseason No. 5 ranking tumbling out of the polls and then came word Buchner would miss the rest of his sophomore season with an injury to his non-throwing shoulder.
Suddenly, with a backup quarterback, everyone wondered if an already stagnant offense might get worse?
Pyne’s starting debut began with another lethargic half against Cal where he struggled, at times, with communicating properly in the huddle. But then he settled down and showed what he could do, completing 13 of his final 14 passes for 123 yards and two scores in a 24-17 victory, Freeman’s first as a head coach.
With four ranked teams still on this season’s schedule, Pyne will take whatever momentum he can muster to keep Notre Dame moving and improving.