SOUTH BEND, Ind. — As intriguing as junior Drew Pyne’s first career matchup as a starter against a team ranked higher than 78th nationally in total defense might be in the context of this season, Saturday’s clash at 16th-ranked Syracuse is an important data point in assessing Notre Dame’s quarterback situation for 2023 as well.
So is what’s happening with injured sophomore Tyler Buchner.
And what’s not happening.
Buchner was ND’s QB1 this season until late in game 2, a 26-21 upset loss to Marshall on Sept. 10, when he suffered a season-ending left shoulder separation that required surgery. His timeline for full recovery at the time was purported to be sometime in January.
“He's not able to do many physical drills right now, even with his throwing shoulder,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said during his weekly Thursday Zoom session with the media. “I know it wasn't surgically repaired, but it still affects the other (left) shoulder.
“And he hasn't been released to run yet. But I think here soon he's going to start progressing. Again, it was a four- to five-month recovery, which puts us somewhere in January, and right now I've been told nothing otherwise with that.”
But both Freeman and Pyne were clear this week that Buchner is not fermenting, that’s there’s growth taking place, even if he can’t display it on the practice field, yet.
“What can he do to continue to enhance/prepare?” Freeman said. “He's doing a really good job in meetings and continuing to keep his mind sharp, mentally, be another set of eyes for (Drew Pyne), be a voice for (Pyne). But again, the ability to study the game and the ability to mentally stay sharp is something that you can't get enough of. And he's doing that.”
Added Pyne, “He's up in the box during the games, which is great for him to be able to see from up there. In practice, I'll come over and talk to him, because we kind of have the same set of eyes. I think we see things the same way.
“He's a great source for me to go and talk about a few things, because he knows how I throw. He knows everything about my motion, my strengths and my weaknesses. And I know about his. He's been great.”
All four QBs on the current Irish roster — Pyne, Buchner, freshman Steve Angeli and sophomore Ron Powlus III — are eligible to return in 2023. The Irish would still like to add a 2023 recruiting cycle QB in December, but that option and the idea of 2024 commit CJ Carr reclassifying to arrive a year early became less likely with each passing day.
And adding through the transfer portal to compete with a recovered Buchner and a now-experienced Pyne is a notion that’s rapidly gaining momentum.
In five starts and the late relief appearance against Marshal, Pyne has completed 93 of 146 passes for 1,077 yards and 12 TDs with three interceptions. After peaking at No. 17 nationally in pass efficiency and No. 7 in completion percentage on Oct. 8 after ND’s win over BYU, Pyne has scuffled the past two weeks and finds himself No. 43 in passing efficiency (148.7) and 57th in completion percentage (.637).
Syracuse is 16th nationally in total defense and No. 19 in pass-efficiency defense.
“I don't really care about my stats at all,” Pyne said. “I care about winning and scoring and moving the ball. I don't really care about my completion percentage. I never check it. I don't know how many yards I threw for. I just try to go out there and play and execute every single play.
“The completion percentage, I guess it was high, early in the season. I don't know what it's at right now. I just go out there and play and try to execute and watch the film and get better.”
On the mend
Linebacker Jack Kiser (thigh bruise), safety Brandon Joseph (lower-leg contusion) and cornerback Jaden Mickey (abductor strain), all limited or out for last Saturday’s UNLV game, have been practicing this week and are expected to play against Syracuse.
Playing catch-up
Freeman challenged an Irish wide receiver corps, on a trajectory for the lowest collective production since 2000, to step up their game this week in practice. So far, they’re good for 50 receptions for 652 yards and four touchdowns, with sophomore Lorenzo Styles accounting for nearly half of the catches (23 for 287 yards and a TD).
“They've actually had a really good week,” he said. “I spent a good amount of time with them this week. And you realize it's such an unselfish (group). You have to be unselfish. You can do everything right.
“You can be wide open, and you don't always get rewarded for it. But they're continuing to battle, continuing to get better, and I look forward to seeing what they do on Saturday.”
Block party
In seven games, Notre Dame has been able to tie the modern school record for blocked punts in a season, with four, set in 1938 and matched in both 1949 and 2000.
Even more impressive, the Irish spend only five minutes a week practicing them.
“Yeah, it's not a ton of time,” said ND special teams coordinator Brian Mason, who got two from Isaiah Foskey last Saturday against UNLV. “So usually, I try to get with the guys, individually or in small groups (Tuesday) and (Wednesday), and try to introduce, 'Here's what we're doing.'
“We usually keep some form of base rules from week to week. But we're going to make adjustments on where guys line up, what the responsibilities are. Hopefully, people don't get a great feel for some of the things we're doing personnel-wise. It takes extra work outside of practice time, we don't have a ton of practice time for special teams.”
Mason came to ND in January from the University of Cincinnati, where the Bearcats blocked nine punts over the four seasons (2018-21) that Mason presided over UC’s special teams. The Bearcats also blocked 14 kicks during that span, including a nation’s-best six in 2021, tied with Houston and Old Dominion.
Off target
Notre Dame senior linebacker and leading tackler JD Bertrand is also the Irish leader in targeting penalties.
Twice this season Bertrand was ejected from games for the infraction, with the added consequence of having to sit out the first half of the subsequent game. It almost happened again last Saturday in ND’s 44-21 win over UNLV.
A targeting call on the field against Bertrand was reversed by the replay booth
“For me, to be honest, it’s something that I’m practicing after practices, so I don’t have to think about it during games,” Bertrand said of avoiding future targeting calls. “If you start thinking about, ‘Where am I going to hit him?’ it’s just going to slow me down
“There are some shorter dummies that are like 5-foot tall, and just making sure I hit ’em really low. And so just coming off a break where I’m blind (to the ball) or flipping my hips and I’m blind and making sure that I’m hitting low.”
Growth spurt
Sophomore left offensive tackle Joe Alt was ND’s tallest player when training camp started in early August at 6-foot-7 ⅝. Seven games into the season, he said he’s been measured at over 6-8 and still growing.
His game is growing even more impressively. The freshman All-American has been consistently rated as one of the top two tackles in the FBS over the past few weeks by Pro Football Focus.
“For me it’s been a lot of my footwork, especially in the run game early on, getting that calmed down,” Alt said of his most significant area of progress. “Taking the simplest, easiest footwork to get me to my block, both in the pass (game) and in the run game. If you’re in the right spot, your percentage of winning that block goes up so much.”
Squibs
• Syracuse is tied with Cincinnati as the nation’s most penalized team, at 9.57 per game. That translates to roughly 73 yards for the Orange. Notre Dame is near the other end of the spectrum, tied for the 11th-fewest at 4.29 per game.
• The ABC crew for Saturday’s telecast (Noon EDT) comprises Joe Tessitore, Greg McElroy and Katie George. Syracuse coach Dino Babers is 0-5 in his career on the network.
• The ACC’s Atlantic Division, which includes ND’s next two opponents (Syracuse and Clemson), is a collective 18-1 in non-conference games this season. The only loss was by ND’s Nov. 19 opponent, Boston College. The Eagles, led by former Notre Dame quarterback Phil Jurkovec, fell to Rutgers, 22-21, in their season opener.
Louisville, Florida State, NC State and Wake Forest are the other ACC Atlantic members.
• Syracuse has only won the coin toss twice this season but has received to start the game in all seven contests in 2022. The Orange have gone on to score on their first possession in five of those games.
Why that’s significant is Syracuse coach Dino Babers extreme splits: 56-16 in his career when his teams score first, 16-44 when they do not. And he’s 62-9 when his teams lead at the half vs. 10-51 when they’re tied or behind.
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