First Half Analysis: Notre Dame Leads UNLV 30-7

First half thoughts and analysis of the Notre Dame vs UNLV game, which the Irish lead 30-7

First half thoughts and analysis of the Notre Dame vs UNLV game, which the Irish lead 30-7.

NOTRE DAME OFFENSE

*** The good news is Notre Dame finally got off to a fast start. A bootleg pass for 23 yards and a well-read and well-thrown post route from Drew Pyne to Jayden Thomas set Notre Dame up for its first game opening touchdown drive of the season. The offense was erratic after that and failed to turn great field position into touchdowns.

*** Notre Dame started first half drives at the UNLV 44-yard line, the 43-yard line, the UNLV 32-yard line, the UNLV 20-yard line, the UNLV 19-yard line and turned just two of those drives into touchdowns. Three more resulted in the offense settling for field goals for a variety of miscues. There was also another fumble from Audric Estime which killed a drive. Notre Dame score a lot of points but the field position they had should have resulted in at least 14-17 more points in this quarter. It worked out against a bad UNLV defense, but there were still way too many mistakes and miscues. It's good the Irish were up 30-7, but against better teams those types of mistakes prove costly.

*** A good sign was that Notre Dame used the RPO game a bit more in this game. There were some missed opportunities, including Pyne missing a wide "now" screen where the offense had UNLV out-leveraged and out-numbered. But we also saw at least two RPO throws turn into easy first downs. Pyne hit Braden Lenzy on an out cut, and Lenzy made a defender miss en route to a 10-yard gain and a first down, and he hit Lorenzo Styles on a hitch RPO, and Styles also made a defender miss to get 11-yards and a first down.

*** Why this wasn't used before this game, and why it's still not used more, is one of the mysteries of this season, but it was good to see it in the first half. Hopefully it's a sign of things to come.

*** Quarterback Drew Pyne was a bit erratic in the first half. He had a few really good throws, including the aforementioned throw to Thomas and an impressive wheel route in a sideline hole for another 34-yard gain. He also missed some open receivers and is still way too locked into Michael Mayer, especially on third down. He forced a seam throw to Mayer, but the star tight end made a ridiculous catch for a 27-yard gain. He missed a touchdown shot to Tobias Merriweather on a backline drag by throwing it too hard. That's part of the feel he needs to learn. Pyne also failed to see Lenzy wide open on a go route, instead forcing the ball to Mayer for an incompletion, which resulted in the offense settling for another field goal. 

*** Running back Logan Diggs got the start and ran with authority, but it wasn't until late in the second quarter that the Irish line started to get the movement needed to open up holes. Estime's fumble issues are becoming a serious concern, and the continued lack of using Chris Tyree to do anything but run right up the middle is just poor coaching. They finally got him downfield late in the second quarter on what should have been a touchdown, but Pyne was off target and the ball sailed over Tyree's head. Diggs, however, took advantage of his opportunities and ran hard, made sound decisions and his pass pro was solid from what I could see.

*** Sophomore wideout Lorenzo Styles had a really bad third down drop that ended another drive. His inconsistency catching the ball this season has been disappointing. Thomas ran a really good route to get open on the early post route but wasn't targeted much after that. 

NOTRE DAME DEFENSE

*** It appeared this would be more of the same on defense after UNLV had a 73-yard run on its second drive, which set up a touchdown. Two bad run fits - one by Marist Liufau and the other by JD Bertrand - were the culprits. Outside of that, however, the Notre Dame defense was absolutely dominant in this first half. UNL was without its quarterback and running back, and Notre Dame did what you're supposed to do against an under-manned team, they attacked, they limited big plays (with one exception) and they completely overwhelmed the Rebels.

*** Defensive end Isaiah Foskey bounced back from his rough game last week with a dominant first half performance, on both defense and special teams. He blocked two punts, ended the half with a drive and provided good pressure throughout the half. He finished the first half with two sacks and two blocked punts. Defensive tackle Howard Cross also looked fresh and healthy, and he was good up the middle as well in the pass game. Rylie Mills also had a very good inside pass rush that blew up another third down attempt.

*** In the run game, UNLV had very little room to run after the long early gain. The Irish got a good push up the middle, the ends set the edge effectively and the perimeter defenders were very good against the perimeter screens and outside runs. UNLV really had nowhere to go, which is why they had just 62 yards in the first half outside of that one 73-yard gain. 

*** UNLV's quarterback also couldn't get comfortable. The defense did a good job taking away the quick game, although a couple of in-breaking routes did come open but the QB missed. The downfield coverage was very good and the cornerbacks were all over what is a good group of UNLV pass catchers. Cornerback Clarence Lewis had a great downfield strip on UNLV's only threatening drive of the second quarter. Unlike last week the Irish defense was able to recover.

*** DC Al Golden did a good job being aggressive with his inside linebackers in the run game, which allowed them to step up and play better after the early long run. Marist Liufau had a pair of behind the line stops and I liked what I saw from JD Bertrand for much of the first half. Liufau had a second big mistake in the game when he tried to play both the quarterback and pitch, which allowed the back to get outside for a 2-yard touchdown, but other than that series this was his most active, and impactful game. Bertrand looked a lot more like the guy we saw last season against UNLV as well. 

*** The tackling in the first half of this game was much better than it has been in recent games, which isn't a small feat. UNLV actually has good playmakers on the perimeter, so the discipline in space so far is a very good sign.

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