SOUTH BEND, Ind. — JD Bertrand thought he finally capitalized on the opportunity.
After Bertrand and the Irish defense missed its previous two chances of coming up with a turnover, Notre Dame’s senior captain made a play that turned the game’s tide. Except, it was overturned. And so were Notre Dame’s (3-3) chances at winning its fourth consecutive game.
"Obviously, it's very frustrating,” Bertrand said. “And it goes back to there's too many opportunities there. The ball was on the ground (twice) this game. So, it's that pursuit to the ball and making sure that everyone's getting to the ball, so when it is on the ground, we're able to recover it.
“It's just missed opportunities there."
With 13:25 remaining in the fourth quarter, Bertrand's right punch connected with the ball possessed by Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee, knocking it loose for an Irish recovery at their 49-yard line.
It set ND up to gain possession of the football and maintain its 14-13 edge.
However, after reviewing the bang-bang play, the officiating crew decided McKee’s knee hit the turf before he lost the ball. Stanford (2-4) converted on a 43-yard field goal six plays later, giving it the lead and, eventually, the victory.
Although one play does not define a game, this one zapped the energy out of a sold-out Notre Dame Stadium. And gave the Cardinal a chance it capitalized on.
“I mean, obviously, it goes from high to low,” Bertrand said. “But I think we did a good job just knowing, ‘Hey, we're gonna have to go again, no matter what.’"
The Irish defense made a commendable effort against an offense with a future NFL quarterback that’s scored at least 22 points in every game this season. But again, Notre Dame’s defense came up empty in the turnover department for the fourth time this season.
Coordinator Al Golden’s defense entered Saturday’s game 130th of 131 teams in turnovers gained.
“I wouldn't say it's deflating,” head coach Marcus Freeman said of the number of near turnovers. “A turnover gives you more momentum. It gives you a sense of emotion. But when you're close and don't get it, I don't say it's deflating.
“But those are the moments we've got to get them. We've got to find a way to get them. That one where JD looked like he punched it out right there with his knee touching that was tough because I thought we had it."
Two steps forward, one step back
The Drew Pyne that showed up in South Bend looked much different than the one that threw for a combined 551 yards and six touchdowns on 46-62 passing (74.2%) in the last two games — both on the road.
Notre Dame’s junior quarterback had his worst outing as a starter, completing just 13 of his 27 throws (48.1%). He finished one yard shy of a career-low 151 passing yards in games he started.
Pyne’s struggles came against a Stanford defense that came into the game as No. 94 (out of 131) in pass-efficiency defense and 110th in total defense.
“We weren't throwing the ball as effective as we wanted to,” Freeman said.
In each of Pyne’s four starts, junior tight end Michael Mayer has been the team’s most targeted receiver. Against Stanford, Pyne looked Mayer’s direction 10 times — nearly doubling the next most targeted player (Lorenzo Styles, 6) — but only completed five of them for 60 yards.
“Mike is a great target, and he's a great player, and defenses have ways to try to combat that,” Pyne said. “I’ve got to go find other guys. And I think there were times tonight where I could have done that. And I'm just going to learn from it, come back and execute every day in practice this week and just come back with the head down and work.”
Besides Mayer, Pyne dished out passes to eight other players. But on those throws, he was 8-of-17 (47.1%) for 91 yards and one touchdown. Most of those yards came on a 41-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Tobias Merriweather.
It could have been the second Pyne-Merriweather touchdown of the night. Earlier in the game, Pyne had him wide open. But he missed him on an overthrow.
“Tobias is a speed demon,” Pyne said. “He (runs) really good routes, big target, has great hands, and he's been working his tail off to go make a play like that. You saw earlier I missed him on a route earlier in the end zone that was could have scored on as well.
“He's a great target for us, and we're going to keep building on his role.”
Too little, too late
The Irish running game told a tale of two halves.
Notre Dame’s rushers struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, only netting 37 yards on 16 carries. A 16-yard Pyne scramble was the longest rush of the first 30 minutes. In the final two quarters, the ground game got going with 113 yards on 18 carries.
The progress inspired the running back trio of Logan Diggs, Audric Estimé and Chris Tyree, but it was not enough to get the job done.
“I wouldn't say it's a negative in the room, just being that we didn't really get going in the first half,” Tyree said. “But it's a really positive thing to see, and we can get going like that in a heartbeat. I think it's a testament to how explosive we are as a room, as a whole. I think it's really exciting to see.
The slow start on the ground also prevented Freeman from establishing the identity he is determined to create on offense, which summarized Notre Dame’s offensive struggles. Estimé also lost a fumble on the opening fourth-quarter drive.
“It's the same thing the past couple of weeks,” Freeman said. “You want to run the ball, and you want to take some advantage of some play-action passes and the zones that they're giving you. And we weren't running the ball effectively. ...
"The game plan is to run the ball and try to capitalize off of the aggressiveness of their defense and try to take some shots. And we just weren't executing, obviously, at the level we wanted to.”
On the mend
Notre Dame was light on defense following injuries to key veteran standouts and a promising first-year.
Freeman confirmed to reporters that senior defensive lineman Jayson Ademilola did not play in the second half due to a rib injury.
Inside ND Sports spotted a Notre Dame staffer checking Ademilola’s lower chest in the first half. He was then absent from the field in the closing minutes of the second quarter.
Ademilola had a pair of unassisted tackles before his injury.
Before the game, senior TaRiq Bracy was designated as a game-time decision due to a hamstring injury suffered in the second half of last week’s game against BYU. Despite the glimpse of optimism, Bracy did not see the field against Stanford.
One of Bracy’s backups, freshman Jaden Mickey, did not play. While Freeman mentioned Mickey’s absence postgame, he did not provide an explanation for his unavailability.
Hash Marks
- Bertrand (13), cornerback Benjamin Morrison (four), defensive lineman Gabriel Rubio (seven) and safety Xavier Watts (seven) all achieved career-highs in tackles.
- Merriweather's touchdown was his first career catch. And the 41-yard pass to get it there was Pyne's longest completion of his career.
- Sophomore tight end Mitchell Evans made his season debut after missing the first five games with a foot injury sustained during the summer. Evans' did not record any stats and was flagged for an ineligible man downfield penalty that erased a Mayer touchdown. The Irish turned it over on downs in the red zone three plays later.
- With his five catches, Mayer moved up to seventh all-time in career receptions (151), surpassing former wide receiver and current Pittsburgh Steeler Chase Claypool.
- A few players climbed up the career games played rankings. Here's where they stand after this week.
- Notre Dame hosted 10 representatives from the NFL and its teams: Scott Pioli (NFL), Mozique McCurtis (Texans), John Dorsey (Lions), Kyle Caballero and Stephanie Gray (Raiders), Chuck Cook (Commanders), Jeff Morrow (Panthers), Max Paulus (Browns), Trey Koziol (Bears) and Ed Dobbs (Colts).
- The Irish welcomed back former defensive line standouts Romeo Okwara (Lions) and Kurt Hinish (Texans). Both players — whose teams are on bye weeks — were honored during the first half. Former quarterback Joe Theismann was also in attendance and recognized during the opening half.
- Former LSU and Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron was back at Notre Dame after spending time on campus last April. Orgeron was seen encouraging the team as it made its way from the Basilica to Notre Dame Stadium pregame.
---------------------------------------------------------------
• Talk with Notre Dame fans on The Insider Lounge.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Podbean or Pocket Casts.
• Subscribe to the Inside ND Sports channel on YouTube.
• Follow us on Twitter: @insideNDsports, @EHansenND, @TJamesND and @ByKyleKelly.
• Like us on Facebook: Inside ND Sports
• Follow us on Instagram: @insideNDsports
