LAS VEGAS — Marcus Freeman’s decision to attempt a two-point conversion in the first half Saturday could have come back to haunt him.
When Notre Dame went up 18-6 late in the second quarter, the Irish head coach opted to keep kicker Blake Grupe on the sideline and try to extend the lead to 14 points. Quarterback Drew Pyne didn’t complete a pass into the end zone, so Notre Dame’s lead remained 12.
The lack of an extra point following that touchdown left Notre Dame vulnerable to a BYU comeback in the fourth quarter. The Irish (3-2) managed to hold onto a 28-20 victory over No. 16 BYU (4-2), but one point was the difference between a one-possession and two-possession game.
Freeman said after the game he consulted an analytics book that suggested the Irish should go for two.
“I felt like we were having a rhythm. We were going, and we felt confident in the two-point play,” Freeman said. “We didn't execute, and those are one of those things you look back and say, ‘OK, if we wouldn’t have called it and kicked the extra point, it would have been a nine-point game.’ But if they would have scored, we would have to go for two at some point if it was a closer game.”
Freeman should rethink chasing points in the first half of a game, but he doesn’t have to fret over the decision too much. Instead, he can embrace an impressive victory at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
These six plays defined the outcome of Notre Dame's 11th Shamrock Series win in 11 games.
1. Jayden Thomas’ first career touchdown catch
Sophomore wide receiver Jayden Thomas entered Saturday’s game with three catches for 32 yards in his young Notre Dame career. He more than matched that output against BYU.
Pyne made Thomas work for his first catch of the game Saturday. On third-and-3, Pyne looked his way as Thomas ran a fade from the slot position. Thomas gained outside leverage on nickelback Jakob Robinson, but Pyne made him slow down to try to catch an underthrown pass.
Thomas bailed out Pyne by leaping and reaching over Robinson and securing the ball with his right arm and the ball pressed against Robinson’s back. The 30-yard touchdown reception put Notre Dame up 18-6 with 1:03 left in the second quarter and gave Thomas his first career score.
“Jayden Thomas went up there and made a play.” Pyne said. “I underthrew it, and he went up there and made an unbelievable play. I'm so proud of him. We're going to need him to keep doing what he's doing. And he's going to be a big role for us in the future.”
Thomas made a couple more catches to finish his career day with three receptions for 74 yards. Only tight end Michael Mayer totaled more receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns for the Irish on Saturday.
Notre Dame’s passing attack sorely needed more playmakers beyond Mayer, wide receiver Lorenzo Styles and the running back trio. If Thomas can deliver repeat performances of Saturday’s effort, the Irish will be much tougher to defend.
2. Audric Estimé’s hurdle after Drew Pyne’s magic act
The best game of Pyne’s career had a little bit of everything for him. He hit open receivers. He fit the ball into tight windows. He even scrambled for a five-yard gain to convert a third-and-4 by not-so-nimbly maneuvering around a BYU defensive lineman.
The most ridiculous play from Pyne, who finished 22-of-28 passing (78.6%) for 262 yards and three touchdowns with one interception, came on an improvised shovel pass to running back Audric Estimé in the third quarter. Pyne shook off defensive end Tyler Batty to avoid a sack and made an underhand throw to Estimé as he went to the ground with defensive tackle Bruce Mitchell providing more pressure.
Estimé, who failed to successfully cut block Batty, got up off the ground in time to make himself available to Pyne as a target. Then Estimé added some flair to the end of the play by hurdling linebacker Max Tooley near the end of his 13-yard gain.
"I was pretty surprised myself,” Pyne said of his pass. “And it works, I guess. And then he hurdles someone, so it's pretty good.”
The pass itself illustrated the confidence level with which Pyne played.
“Drew Pyne is always ready to go,” Freeman said. “And now what you're seeing is the execution starting to be there, so the confidence is continuing to rise.”
Estimé led the Irish with 97 rushing yards on 14 carries (6.9 per carry) and picked up 19 yards after the catch on his lone reception. He remained Notre Dame’s most efficient running back and continued to find ways to impress.
“He’s a bulldozer,” Freeman said. “And when that bulldozer starts jumping, bulldozers aren’t supposed to be off the ground. You know what I mean? Bulldozers are supposed to stay on the ground. To see him do that, it just shows his athleticism, but he's playing at a high level.”
3. Michael Mayer’s second touchdown catch
Mayer raised the bar to another level with the most dominant performance of his career. His 11 catches Saturday were the most ever by a Notre Dame tight end in a single game. He did that on the same day he surpassed Tyler Eifert (140 catches) as Notre Dame’s all-time leader in career receptions for a tight end.
Mayer bumped his career total to 146 receptions after his 11-catch, 118-yard, 2-touchdown performance against BYU. Mayer scored Notre Dame’s first touchdown early in the second quarter. Then he gave the Irish a 25-6 lead with a 19-yard touchdown catch from Pyne with 8:05 left in the third quarter.
Fittingly, Mayer’s second touchdown came on a third-and-6 play. It was his fifth third-down conversion of the game. BYU simply couldn’t stop him.
"He's kind of uncoverable,” Pyne said.
Mayer credited Pyne for putting the right amount of touch on the pass, which allowed him to catch the ball with outstretched hands with safety Micah Harper unable to stop him.
“It was perfect. Drew knew I had the guy man-to-man,” Mayer said. “I bet you he was probably thinking of going to me the entire play either way.”
4. Kody Epps’ long touchdown to keep BYU in the game
Notre Dame was threatening to turn the game into a rout until Kody Epps delivered his second touchdown of the day. The BYU wide receiver ran uncovered deep in the middle of the field. After catching the pass, Epps outran cornerback Jaden Mickey and ran around safety Houston Griffith to finish the play in the end zone.
Mickey, a freshman, has been on the field for a number of big passing plays from opposing offenses this season. But it wasn’t clear who should have followed Epps once he ran deeper into the secondary. Safety Brandon Joseph vacated that area of the field on a blitz, which created even more room for Epps to operate.
Epps provided all the significant production for BYU’s passing attack. His teammates totaled five catches for 20 yards while he tallied four catches for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Epps gave BYU its only lead of the game when he caught a two-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jaren Hall on fourth-and-goal in the first quarter.
His second touchdown shifted the momentum in BYU’s favor for a stretch. The Cougars followed it up with a 10-play, 87-yard touchdown drive to cut the margin to 25-20 early in the fourth quarter.
5. Notre Dame’s fourth-down stand
BYU needed a touchdown. Notre Dame needed a stop. The Irish got their wish when the Cougars attempted a fourth-and-1 conversion at the ND 27-yard line.
BYU chose to hand the ball off to running back Lopini Katoa. The Irish were prepared for it. Defensive end Nana Osafo-Mensah held his ground as Katoa ran his direction. Linebacker JD Bertrand filled the hole BYU’s offensive line was trying to create. And defensive tackle Jayson Ademilola helped bring Katoa down from behind by fighting through his initial double team.
“At the biggest moments, he shows up,” Freeman said of Ademilola. “You can't say enough about a guy like that, that you know in the biggest moments you can depend on him.”
Notre Dame’s defense appeared on the verge of a Fiesta Bowl-like collapse until it limited BYU to one yard on third-and-2 and no gain on fourth-and-1. Those run stuffs allowed the defense to redeem itself after giving up 162 of BYU’s 276 total yards on just two drives in the second half.
6. Logan Diggs’ 33-yard run to help run out the clock
Notre Dame’s offense made sure to keep the ball in its possession to end the game by giving the ball to its running backs.
Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees could have been tempted to call a pass after a holding penalty on right guard Josh Lugg pushed Notre Dame back into second-and-17. However, Rees didn’t lose faith in the Irish running game. Pyne handed the ball to running back Logan Diggs, which led him to a hole created by pulling left guard Jarrett Patterson, right tackle Blake Fisher and Mayer.
Diggs could have been limited to a five-yard gain, but he avoided a diving defender to pick up the first down and fought off linebacker Payton Wilgar before finally being taken down after a 33-yard gain. Notre Dame needed just one more first down to put away the game, and Estimé picked it up with four yards on third-and-4.
The Irish offensive line cleared the way for 234 rushing yards including 17 carries for 93 yards from Diggs. Notre Dame’s line also prevented Pyne from being sacked all game.
“Our O-line, even on the last drive, they continued to get those first downs when we needed them when (BYU) knew we were running the ball,” Freeman said. “They knew we were running it. I've told them, that's the sign of a great offensive line — when they know you're running the ball and you're able to get first downs. That's an O-line-driven program.”
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