9/3/2022 football Edit

Game balls: Two players stand out in Notre Dame’s first game of the season

Sophomore Tyler Buchner finished his first game as a starter with no touchdowns and no interceptions. (Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports)

Kyle Kelly • InsideNDSports

Recruiting Writer

Notre Dame football recruiting writer with past experience covering Ohio State football recruiting for cleveland.com. Current Northwestern University graduate student and John Carroll University grad.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The first game of Notre Dame’s 2022 season is in the books.

Although head coach Marcus Freeman’s first regular-season game resulted in a 21-10 loss against Ohio State, there were players that made an impact on each side of the ball.

Inside ND Sports awarded game balls to two players.

Offense: QB Tyler Buchner

Despite not starting a game in over 1,000 days (since his junior year of high school), Buchner took control and showed composure in front of 106,594 in attendance.

The sophomore starting quarterback's poise early put Notre Dame in a position to control the pace and lead for most of the first three quarters. Buchner completed 10-18 (55.6%) of his passes for 177 yards (9.8 yards per attempt).

Buchner began the game by completing his first eight passes for 128 yards.

While Buchner appeared in 10 games and had 35 pass attempts as a freshman, the environment at the Horseshoe for a first-time starter could have been too much to handle. Instead, Buchner took an encouraging first step as Notre Dame's 2022 season starting quarterback.

Buchner finished the night with 11 carries for 18 yards rushing.

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Defense: CB Benjamin Morrison

Against Heisman hopeful quarterback C.J. Stroud and an elite Ohio State wide receiver corps, Morrison stepped up in big moments in the first half.

Morrison took snaps in place of Notre Dame's starting cornerbacks, finished with three tackles (two solo) and was just one of two ND players to record a pass breakup.

The freshman cornerback also helped hold Marvin Harrison Jr. to five receptions and 56 yards, and no touchdowns. Jaxon Smith-Njigba was limited in the first half and missed the second half due to injury.

BOX SCORE

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