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Things We Learned: Offensive development from Notre Dame’s receivers and offensive line accelerates Pyne’s growing confidence

nbcsports.com

In-season development need not spark retrospective regret. It should incur heightened expectations for the seven games remaining for Notre Dame (3-2) this season, not lamentations about losses in the past.

Taking the latter approach risks wishing Irish junior quarterback Drew Pyne would not have so efficiently led the way to a 28-20 win against BYU in Las Vegas on Saturday.

Warping his development into an indictment of decisions made months ago serves only to shortchange Pyne’s progress. Pyne threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-28 passing not because he should have begun the season as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback, but because he has found confidence once thrown into the role three games ago after sophomore Tyler Buchner suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. “That comes with confidence,” Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said Monday. “When you start making the right decisions, you take care of the football.

Now you’re seeing him start to make plays.” Talk to Pyne, now or before he started against Cal in mid-September only to play so poorly in the first quarter as to turn his offensive coordinator into a meme, and it is clear he never lacked confidence.

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A few weeks ago, Notre Dame fans would have seen little competitive intrigue in the Irish (3-3) hosting UNLV (4-3). While the perennial Mountain West cellar dwellers started off the season unexpectedly strong, their truer selves have shown through the last few weeks. Notre Dame should have little issue against UNLV (2:30 ET; Peacock), but last week’s Irish dud against Stanford underscored how little can be presumed in a season of tumult like this one.
Notre Dame will receive no points for Marcus Freeman’s honesty. His transparency on Monday will not soften the Irish loss on Saturday, falling inexplicably to Stanford, 16-14. Any retrospective credit comes only in the shadow of the first-year head coach initially making the mistake he voluntarily confessed to.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s greatest highlight Saturday came long before the Irish (3-3) fell to Stanford, 16-14, in the biggest upset at Notre Dame Stadium since … last month against Marshall.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Sometimes a trip to Las Vegas does not catch up to you until it is over. Notre Dame enjoyed its win in Sin City last week, but that hangover caught up with the Irish on Saturday in a 16-14 loss to Stanford. The win was the Cardinal’s first in its last 12 tries against FBS opponents.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Let’s make one thing clear: At 1-4 and having lost 11 straight games against FBS opponents by an average of more than 18 points per defeat, this is not as bad as the Stanford Cardinal has been. In 2003, Notre Dame beat Stanford 57-7.
At some point, Notre Dame needs to find some peace of mind should junior quarterback Drew Pyne suffer any injury. If Pyne’s helmet gets knocked off, if he sprains an ankle, if he joins the ever-lengthening list of quarterbacks with shoulder injuries across the country, the Irish (3-2) need to know freshman Steve Angeli could step in for a moment, a week, the season.

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