Key Takeaways Of The Notre Dame Offense From The Win Over California

Notre Dame earned its first victory of the season yesterday when it defeated California by a 24-17 score. The Irish was sloppy and failed to reach 300 yards of offense, but the unit did what it needed to do in order to earn the win. We learned a lot about the unit, both good and areas that still need improvement.

Game Plan Was Sound

I was very critical of offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and the Irish offense for its game plans in the first two weeks. They were largely dull, the use of personnel was disappointing and there just didn't seem to be much purpose. It didn't look like the stuff we saw in the second half of the 2021 season.

In game three, however, Rees and the staff put together a far more effective game plan. We saw Notre Dame mix up its personnel groupings more effectively, the presnap movement was more effective, they spread California's defense out, they attacked the perimeter more effectively and the pass and run games seemed to fit together much better.

In the game observations piece I broke down two of the best calls that Rees made in the game, with both being pass plays to a back that got the Irish on the board for the first time and the second set up the game winning score. There were plenty of snaps where Rees did well to get a pass catcher isolated, and if the execution was better the offense would have scored at least two more times and racked up at least 100 more yards.

It was without question a step in the right direction.

Offensive Line-Run Game Shows Promise

Rushing for 147 yards against California, and having your backs average just 4.0 yards per carry is far from a "we've arrived" moment for the Notre Dame offense, but it certainly a positive step forward.

There is still plenty of work to do from an assignment standpoint, but it was a cleaner game up front. Notre Dame's line got a better push against a Cal defensive front that has very good size, and has been relatively good against the run the last two seasons. This was especially true in the second half when we saw the Irish blockers start to lean on Cal a bit more, and that allowed the Irish to grind out a victory in the final two quarters.

Notre Dame's offensive line finally gave the backs a bit more room to work, and the result was a quality step forward.

I was even more impressed with the line from a pass protection standpoint. They gave up a bad sack on the opening drive, allowing a linebacker run through on just a four-man pressure. It seemed we were about to see more of the same from the line, but they cleaned things up in protection after that and gave Drew Pyne a lot of time to throw.

We didn't see any more run throughs like that, and even though Pyne didn't throw deep often, when the coaches did call a deeper read the line gave him plenty of time.

Tyree-Estime Duo Was Really Good

The numbers individually won't blow you away, but running backs Chris Tyree and Audric Estime were a strong one-two punch in the game. They made plays in the run and pass game, combining for 227 yards of offense.

Estime provided much of the thunder and Tyree was the slasher. Tyree got the Irish started, and he was the offense in the first half. That set up Estime - who had just one carry in the first half - to come in and wear California down in the second half.

Rees was creative with how he used the duo, and hopefully this is just the beginning of this duo being the focus of the offense, especially Tyree.

Drew Pyne Needs To Get A Lot Better

Pyne's numbers were decent in the game, with the junior signal caller completing 17-23 passes (73.9%) and throwing two touchdowns, but he also passed for just 150 yards. That's good for an average of just 6.5 yards per attempt and 8.8 yards per completion.

Pyne started just 4-9 due to him simply whiffing on some easy throws. He missed two easy flat throws and had Michael Mayer wide open up the seam on a third-and-9, but the Irish quarterback sailed the ball over his head. He also missed Braden Lenzy on a deep in cut in the fourth quarter.

Pyne seemed unwilling at times to let loose on downfield throws, apparently unwilling to make a mistake, or perhaps not quite comfortable with what he was seeing. Either way, there were a lot of yards left on the table in the pass game Saturday.

Notre Dame cannot use this type of quick game only attack moving forward, which means Pyne will need to do a better job going through reads and getting the ball out down the field, and they'll need to call some plays that allow him to attack the deeper parts of the field.

What I liked about Pyne's performance is how he bounced back after the poor start, which included a lost fumble that set up a California score. He's a mentally tough kid and we saw that yesterday, but his execution and aggressiveness will need to improve moving forward.

Wide Receiver Play Disappoints

I'll have more after watching the film again, but I was quite disappointed with the play of the Irish receivers. The release effort was inconsistent, the blocking was wildly erratic and once again we didn't see them come down with some throws they should have made.

A wide receiver (Braden Lenzy) getting a false start on a 3rd-and-1 is unacceptable, and the quarterback (Pyne) not making sure everyone was lined up before snapping the ball was equally unacceptable. Your leading receiver (Lorenzo Styles) dropping an easy crossing throw on 3rd-and-5 is unacceptable. Dropping might be too easy of a term as well, as Styles seemed to never even get his hands on the ball, which was odd.

Perhaps the unit is frustrated, but you can't blame the quarterback, the play calling or other things for the performance on Saturday. The unit simply has to play better, play with better effort and execute at a higher level than what we saw on Saturday.

Third-Down Offense, Penalties Disappoint

Notre Dame's situational football was poor yesterday, and the teams lack of focus and sloppy play was a big reason for that. Notre Dame has struggled mightily on third-down all season long, and yesterday was no different.

The Irish went just 3-12 on third down, good for just a 25% conversion rate. Notre Dame currently ranks 124th nationally in third-down offense. It wasn't even about good defense, either. Notre Dame showed a disappointing lack of focus on third-down against the Bears, and the execution was even worse.

Its first third-down attempt was a 3rd-and-1 that was picked up easily by a quarterback sneak, but the play was negated by the Lenzy false start. On the next play the offensive line allowed an easy linebacker run through for a sack.

Another false started turned the 3rd-and-4 on series three into a 3rd-and-9. Even with that tougher down and distance, Pyne had Michael Mayer open for what should have been an easy conversion, but he sailed the ball up the seam instead of leading Mayer into the open spot over the middle.

On the next third-down Styles dropped an accurate crossing through on a play where he very likely moves the chains if he holds onto the football. It wasn't until the second quarter that Notre Dame finally moved the chains on a third-down.

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