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Notre Dame, Isaiah Foskey rout UNLV early, coast late in 44-21 win

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Isaiah Foskey played a huge part in Notre Dame jumping out to a quick lead on UNLV, blocking two punts in the first quarter that led to 10 Irish points.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — None of this was UNLV’s fault. It was not the Rebels’ fault that Notre Dame needed to exorcise a bounty of offensive demons this late into October. UNLV was not to blame for Irish defensive end Isaiah Foskey having six games of frustrations pent up to unleash on the Rebels’ punter and then quarterbacks. And UNLV was nothing but accommodating of Notre Dame’s record pursuit for junior tight end Michael Mayer.

It may not have been the Rebels’ fault, but they bore the brunt of those realities in the first half of the 44-21 Irish victory on Saturday. Leading 23-7 after one quarter and 30-7 at halftime thanks in large part to Foskey blocking two punts deep in UNLV territory, Notre Dame (4-3) coasted to victory in the second half, somewhere between convincingly so and frustratingly so.

“It wasn’t perfect, we know that,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. “That’s the reality of football, it’s never perfect. There’s a lot of things that you’re going to look and want to correct, but overall they played a really good game.”

Junior quarterback Drew Pyne did not set the field ablaze, not before he took an ugly hit to his upper back/head/neck late in the second quarter and not after. He was 8-of-17 for 167 yards and a touchdown before taking the hit that set up the most unorthodox touchdown of Notre Dame’s season. Afterward, he went 6-of-11 for 38 yards with a four-yard touchdown pass to fifth-year receiver Braden Lenzy and an interception on a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage.

“[Pyne] tried to stay in the game, the doctors pulled him out to make sure they could evaluate him,” Freeman said. “After that series, a couple plays, they said he was ready to go.”

In his absence, freshman quarterback Steve Angeli lined up in a shotgun formation only to have sophomore tight end Mtichell Evans motion behind the center and take the snap for a one-yard sneak and a score. The Irish had run the same play earlier on the possession to convert a third-and-one.

“That was something we wanted to use on short yardage,” Freeman said. “[Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’] creativity on short-yardage attempts. That was a part of the creativity. … I don’t know if he would have called it (at the goal line) if Drew was still in the game, but it executed so maybe we’ll expand that package a little bit.”

A quarterback in high school who relied plenty on his size to beat his opponents, Evans’ cameo behind center gave Notre Dame its 30-7 halftime lead. From there, the Irish offensive approach changed a bit, be it because of Pyne’s knock (unlikely, given he played the whole game) or because they were content to cruise to a lopsided victory.

After six of their first nine possessions ended in points, their next three would all go scoreless, including a Blake Grupe field goal off the upright after he had made his first three attempts. Eventually, a Chris Tyree 8-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter erased any last lingering doubt about the game’s outcome, even if the then 37-14 score was far from the day’s final tally.

Notre Dame seemed intent to run out the clock, running 12 times on that 13-play drive that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Sophomore Logan Diggs took nine carries for 45 yards while Tyree’s three for 16 got the added glory of crossing the goal line.

The first tight-end score of the day tied a Notre Dame record, a 20-yard pass from Pyne to Mayer that was Mayer’s 15th in his career, matching Ken MacAfee’s total in the late ‘70s. With 115 yards on six catches Saturday, all coming in the first half, Mayer is just 25 receiving yards away from setting that career mark, as well.

Foskey finished with three sacks in addition to the two blocked punts, giving him 21.5 career sacks, three behind Justin Tuck’s career record at Notre Dame.

CONTROL OF THE GAME
Notre Dame put together eight quality possessions on its 10 first-half drives, while limiting UNLV to just one quality possession on 10 drives. In a comical fashion, no Rebels’ first-half possession lasted more than three plays, including their touchdown drive, buoyed by a 74-yard run.

“At the end of the day, we’re evaluated off the result, we’re evaluated off did we win or lose,” Freeman said. “We needed this, we needed this for our mentality and our confidence. We are a good team. I’ve said that before. We’re a good football team that doesn’t always play that way.”

For the game, Notre Dame put itself in successful position on 11 of its 14 drives, while keeping UNLV from such a claim on 12 of its 15 possessions.

MISSED OPPORTUNITY OF THE GAME
On a day when the Irish defense forced a turnover, blocked two punts and tallied nine tackles behind the line of scrimmage, it still gave up one too many touchdowns for Angeli’s concerns. One play away from becoming Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, Angeli’s moment watching Evans score a touchdown was his first career appearance.

With the Irish up 37-14 following Tyree’s score, Freeman was prepared to send Angeli in for a full series if the defense kept UNLV at bay halfway through the fourth quarter.

“Before that last series, I said, ‘Hey, if they don’t score here, let’s get Angeli ready to go,’” Freeman said.

The Rebels scored. With the lead now technically within two possessions — UNLV would have needed to get into the end zone four times to erase that 37-21 deficit — Freeman stuck with Pyne for one more ball-control touchdown drive.

“I wanted to stay with the offense,” he said. “We were able to go down and score, milk the clock the way we wanted to.

“I wanted to get [Angeli] in the game.”

Instead, that 9-play touchdown drive, covering only 46 yards courtesy of a Rebels onside kick, featured seven Logan Diggs rushes for 33 yards, part of his 28-carry, 130-yard day.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
It was a simple quote, but it was one not many coaches would have offered. Freeman strayed as far from coach-speak as one can without dropping profanity in the sanitized environment of a postgame press conference when he offered an honest thought of some vulnerability.

“It was a tough week, for all of us,” he said.

Right there was something most coaches would not admit, no matter how obvious it may be.

“If you’re part of this Notre Dame family, Notre Dame nation, this football team, it was a tough week. I’m proud of how our guys responded. I’m proud of the way our fans and our students continue to support this team.

“I didn’t know what it was going to be like today.”

With an announced attendance of 73,165, likely generous but not laughably so, Notre Dame Stadium was welcoming enough of the Irish, no reprise of the boos that accompanied Notre Dame’s trip to the halftime locker room a week ago.

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter12:35 — Notre Dame touchdown. Audric Estimé 12-yard rush. Blake Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 7, UNLV 0. (6 plays, 75 yards, 2:25)10:05 — Notre Dame field goal. Grupe 43 yards. Notre Dame 10, UNLV 0. (5 plays, 18 yards, 2:07)9:10 — UNLV touchdown. Jordan Younge-Humphrey 2-yard rush. Daniel Gutierrez PAT good. Notre Dame 10, UNLV 7. (3 plays, 75 yards, 0:56)6:24 — Notre Dame touchdown. Michael Mayer 20-yard pass from Drew Pyne. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 17, UNLV 7. (2 plays, 20 yards 0:08)3:58 — Notre Dame field goal. Grupe 27 yards. Notre Dame 20, UNLV 7. (4 plays, 5 yards, 0:48)1:18 — Notre Dame field goal. Grupe 46 yards. Notre Dame 23, UNLV 7. (4 plays, 4 yards, 1:12)

Second Quarter4:10 — Notre Dame touchdown. Mitchell Evans 1-yard rush. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 30, UNLV 7. (6 plays, 46 yards, 3:04)

Third Quarter8:06 — UNLV touchdown. Harrison Bailey 2-yard rush. Gutierrez PAT good. Notre Dame 30, UNLV 14. (9 plays, 76 yards, 3:43)

Fourth Quarter
11:59 — Notre Dame touchdown. Chris Tyree 8-yard rush. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 37, UNLV 14. (13 plays, 62 yards, 7:10)
8:02 — UNLV touchdown. Younge-Humphrey 1-yard rush. Gutierrez PAT good. Notre Dame 37, UNLV 21. (11 plays, 75 yards, 3:57)
2:55 — Notre Dame touchdown. Braden Lenzy 4-yard pass from Pyne. Grupe PAT good. Notre Dame 44, UNLV 21. (9 plays, 46 yards, 5:06)

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