Graduate senior quarterback Jack Coan ended Notre Dame’s first October game on the bench, watching Cincinnati stave off a Notre Dame comeback attempt led by his potential replacement in a 24-13 victory that snapped the Irish’s 26-game home win streak. It was natural to wonder if he might ever reclaim his job.
Well, how things can change in a month.
Coan put a bow on Notre Dame’s final October game with some self-deprecating humor after his second straight strong outing. In a 44-34 win over North Carolina, Coan put forth his best start since hanging 366 yards and four touchdowns at Florida State in the opener. He was 16-of-24 for 213 yards and a touchdown through the air, while adding three carries for 28 yards and another score on the ground.
The latter touchdown — a 21-yard scramble on Notre Dame’s first possession of the second half — was a frequent subject of discussion in Coan’s postgame media session. The rarity of it wasn’t lost on him.
“I don’t take anything for granted when I’m running,” Coan said. “It was sort of like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m still going.’”
His run as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback is still going too, with more momentum than any point this year. The Irish have won three straight and have found a stable path forward on offense overall. Coan is right in the middle of it.
Since re-entering the Oct. 9 win at Virginia Tech, Coan is 43-of-61 (70.5 percent) for 495 yards with four total touchdowns and one interception. He has done it while playing in the up-tempo offense he operated out of need vs. the Hokies. Notre Dame liked what it saw from him in the hurry-up offense on those final two drives in Blacksburg and adopted it as a more permanent tactic.
“We have obviously found a niche where he feels really comfortable,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said.
Yes, Notre Dame ideally doesn’t need six games to find the setup that consistently brings out Coan’s best, but that trial-and-error process has seemingly concluded with Notre Dame still in position to make some stretch-run and postseason noise. The Irish are a quick-throw, fast-decision passing offense with Coan as the starter and freshman Tyler Buchner occasionally rotating in behind him. That identity has worked for the last nine eight quarters.
Coan took what North Carolina’s defense gave him, which was enough to help Notre Dame’s offense average a season-best 7.7 yards per play and score a season-high 44 points. Sometimes, that was a throw to fifth-year senior receiver Avery Davis when he settled in the soft spot of a zone coverage. Other times, it was sophomore tight end Michael Mayer on a short throw or a boundary look to senior receiver Kevin Austin Jr. in a one-on-one.
Coan’s touchdown was a 21-yard toss to Austin on a back-shoulder fade. Austin had one-on-one coverage vs. cornerback Don Chapman with no safety help. Coan saw it, let it rip and delivered an on-target pass to the front pylon.
For the second straight game, Notre Dame put together five drives of at least 70 yards. Three of them lasted 11 or more plays. A resurgent offensive line and running game has plenty to do with that. But so does a decisive and clearly comfortable Coan.
Coan leading two scoring drives at the end of the game vs. Virginia Tech was an intriguing development. An entire game with the tempo offense vs. USC was encouraging. And now, two weeks in a row with a stable and successful offensive blueprint is promising as Notre Dame heads into its final four regular-season games.
It has put the Irish at ease on offense for the first time in a while. And even brought out some surprises from their quarterback.
“He’s thinking that he touched 19 [miles per hour] on the GPS. I'm calling liar on that,” Kelly quipped, referencing Coan’s touchdown run. “But he's feeling pretty good about himself right now.”
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