Notre Dame defense, RB Audric Estime push Irish past Cal in miscue-filled afternoon

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame’s passing game misfired for most of the day, to offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ understandable chagrin. Snapping the ball sometimes became an Irish worry, the most basic part of an offense suddenly concerning. Third downs were repeatedly compounded with false starts. But when Notre Dame needed an efficient, game-winning drive, all those offensive worries disappeared.

Irish quarterback Drew Pyne found star tight end Michael Mayer for a 6-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to give Notre Dame a 24-17 win against Cal on Saturday, the first victory of Marcus Freeman’s head-coaching career coming in Pyne’s first-career start.

“We find a way to just keep it close,” Freeman said to NBC’s Zora Stephenson after the game. “I’m proud of our guys for finishing. There’s a lot of teaching, there’s a lot of plays we have to learn from, but we’re going to savor this victory.”

The seven-play, 66-yard drive was the first display of offensive efficiency from Notre Dame not only all afternoon, but all season. Sophomore running back Audric Estime began the possession with a simple three-yard run, but by that point, the Bears needed to respect the threat of Estime’s physical ground game after he had powered the previous Irish touchdown drive. Rees and Pyne then alternated Estime touches with plays for more dynamic Notre Dame playmakers — junior running back Chris Tyree gained 11 yards on two plays while sophomore receiver Lorenzo Styles caught a six-yard pass, perhaps meager numbers on the surface but ones that kept a drive moving and multi-dimensional.

Estime then caught a quick pass and rumbled for 32 yards before stumbling untouched to just short of the 5-yard line. Cal may have expected the bowling ball in