Game Observations: Notre Dame Offense Does What's Needed To Beat Cal

Notre Dame's offense sputtered for almost a full half, looking much like the unit we saw the first two weeks, but the group rebounded, got rolling and did what it needed to do for the Irish to get their first win of the season. Notre Dame outscored California 17-7 in the second half to earn a 24-17 victory.

Here is my analysis of the performance of the offense:

*** There was a lot to pick apart with the game plans and play-calling for the offense in the first two games, but Tommy Rees called a very good game against California, and the game plan was also strong. Rees mixed up personnel early and spread California out, which opened up running lanes. There were plenty of opportunities to win one-on-ones, and if the execution was better in several areas there would have been several big plays in the game.

*** Two of Rees' best calls involved long gains in the pass game to the running backs. Notre Dame's first score was a touchdown pass to Chris Tyree for 21 yards. Notre Dame lined up in 21 personnel, which means two backs were on the field. Right before the snap, Rees had Audric Estime quickly motion outside to the left, which caused the Cal safety to roll down into the alley, putting Tyree in a one-on-one with a linebacker, and Tyree easily won that for a touchdown. With the game tied 17-17 and Notre Dame driving, Rees again went 21 personnel and this time Rees put Tyree out to the right in a trips and had Estime run an angle route backside, again isolated on a linebacker. Quarterback Drew Pyne hit him in stride and Estime raced 36 yards into the red zone.

*** What plagued the offense and kept the points down in the first half was incredibly sloppy play, and too many mental mistakes. Notre Dame had four false starts, and they were done twice by a fifth-year offensive lineman and captain (Jarrett Patterson), a fifth-year senior receiver (Braden Lenzy), another senior (Zeke Correll) and a sophomore (Blake Fisher). You also had a dropped pass that would have converted a third-down and several missed throws on wide open players.

*** Notre Dame settled down and played much cleaner football in the second half, which is why the Irish offense scored on its first three drives of the final two quarters, which turned a 10-7 halftime deficit and a 17-14 fourth quarter deficit into a 24-17 lead.

*** Junior running back Chris Tyree was finally made a focal point of the offense and he rewarded the staff with a strong performance, especially in the first half, when he racked up 33 rushing yards and caught three passes for 35 yards. Tyree continued to get touches in the second half, but his first half forced Cal to key on him more, which then opened up other things.

*** Tyree loosened the defense up and sophomore Audric Estime became the hammer. As the line started to wear more on the California front the offense went to Estime more and more and he had success. Estime had just one carry for six yards in the first half, but in the second half he racked up ...... Estime also had the aforementioned 36-yard gain in the pass game, and he had a key blitz pick up on the touchdown pass that put the Irish up in the fourth quarter.

*** Notre Dame's receivers had a bit of a rough day. The throws weren't overly accurate, but the unit as a whole didn't block well on the perimeter, and this was especially true of veteran Joe Wilkins Jr., who whiffed on a pair of perimeter blocks, including a swing screen to Tyree. Styles also had a bad drop in the first half on a third-down call. He was wide open and would have easily picked up the first down.

*** Tight end Michael Mayer's numbers weren't overly impressive but he made a great, great move to get free on a slant route for a touchdown, and he was open a lot in this game. He ran past the defense to get free on a third-down seam route that likely would have gone for at least 20 yards, and he was wide open on a slide screen that would have gone for at least 10 more yards, but Pyne missed him on both throws.

*** It was a rough start for the offensive line, and the false start penalties were unacceptable and stalled multiple drives in the first half. Patterson also missed a simple Mike fire that allowed Cal to get an easy sack on the opening drive despite using just a four-man pressure. What we did see, however, was the line start to move and push Cal around, especially in the second half. Cal is a quality run defense that ranked 39th in the country in rush defense a season ago. Notre Dame certainly didn't dominate them on the ground, finishing with 147 yards on the ground, but they got more of a push in the game, were physical and racked up 86 yards on the ground in the second half.

*** The pass protection also got a lot better after the early struggles, and for the most part Pyne had plenty of time to throw the football.

*** That brings us to Drew Pyne. His first half was as bad as could be. He missed wide open players, was unwilling to throw to other open players and then he fumbled a snap that gave Cal the football deep in Irish territory, leading to a score. He was just 7-12 for 47 yards in the first half, and 21 of those yards came on the one pass to Tyree for a score, and it was slightly under thrown.

*** There were still too many missed opportunities in the second half and things he'll have to clean up, but Pyne was much, much sharper and calm in the second half. He was 10-11 for 103 yards in the second half. Most of his throws were short, but he was accurate, got the ball where it needed to go and he managed the offense.

*** There is still A LOT that needs to get cleaned up with the offense, and I wanted to see them be more aggressive up 24-17, but

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