Tag: One Foot Down

Social media reacts to Spencer Shrader’s program-long field goal

Nice leg on the transfer.

As advertised, NC State has provided Notre Dame with its greatest test so far, at least in the first quarter. The Irish’s offense was unable to do anything on its first two drive, but the defense likewise held serve on the other end.

On the offense’s third drive, it finally was able to put something together, getting to the Wolfpack’s 36-yard line on third down after [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] was penalized for intentional grounding. [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] opted to send [autotag]Spencer Shrader[/autotag] out for a 54-yard field goal, and the USF transfer had plenty of leg to split the uprights on the longest successful kick in Irish history:

The fact that Shrader hasn’t really been needed until now shows how easy the Irish’s first two games were. The tougher the opponent, the more valuable Shrader becomes with points coming at a premium. Hopefully, that doesn’t come very often, but regardless, here is what folks had to say on social media after the kick:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame RB Gi’Bran Payne’s first career TD

This game has been Payne for the Tigers.

Notre Dame’s game against Tennessee State has become a showcase for players getting firsts in their collegiate careers. First, we saw [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] score his first touchdown. Next, [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] got his first touchdown pass. Then, Angeli threw his second touchdown pass to a running back, who scored his first touchdown on the play. That running back was [autotag]Gi’Bran Payne[/autotag]:

Like many other second-half contributors for the Irish, Payne’s opportunity was made possible because the Irish went into the half with such a big lead. When Payne scored, the Tigers still had been kept off the scoreboard in the second half. They had been held to a mere field goal just like Navy had against the Irish the week before.

As hard as it is to believe in a blowout, there still were people watching the game when Payne scored. Here are some of the tweets sent out by some of the remaining viewers:

Social media reacts to Audric Estime’s rushing touchdown

The Irish have a nice running back.

Expectations were high for Notre Dame running back [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] coming into the season. Even though the Irish have arguably their best quarterback in years in [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag], that didn’t mean their rushing attack would be de-emphasized.

Estime scored one touchdown against Navy, and it only was a matter of time before he got his second against Tennessee State. He did just that on this 5-yard run that was the same distance as Hartman’s earlier in the second quarter:

That 28-3 lead was much more in line with what the Irish were expected to do with the Tigers. The Irish got off to a slow start in the first quarter but finally have asserted the gap in both talent and level between the two programs. Assuming the Irish hold on, there will be a lot of dissecting those differences. In the meantime, here’s what social media was saying about Estime after his touchdown:

Twitter reacts to Tyler Buchner’s game-tying touchdown in Gator Bowl

He’s back.

[autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] has been waiting for this moment for a long time. He gets to start at quarterback for Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl, and he’s doing it against both South Carolina and a heavy contingent of its supporters. If that pressure is getting to him, he hasn’t shown it.

Buchner’s second drive began after [autotag]Ramon Henderson[/autotag] recovered a fumble at midfield. Over 10 plays in roughly three-and-a-half minutes, he guided the Irish mostly through passes to get to the Gamecocks’ 15-yard line. At that point, he kept the ball himself and ran to the end zone to tie the game at 7:

You would think with all the Sam Hartman talk, Buchner wouldn’t be as motivated to perform. Instead, he’s out to prove he can offer something to the Irish in 2023. At least some Irish fans appear to think that already as evidenced by these touchdown reactions posted on Twitter:

Twitter reacts to Notre Dame’s Logan Diggs’ fourth touchdown of season

Nice little scoring run.

Once again, Notre Dame is proving that it just won’t go away. USC is playing for a shot at the College Football Playoff, and the Irish are making them earn it. Every time it seems like the Irish are left for dead, they show they still has some life. We saw this after a 25-yard reception by [autotag]Braden Lenzy[/autotag], which helped lead to this 5-yard touchdown run from [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] to cut the deficit to 31-21:

This was Diggs’ third rushing touchdown of the season and his fourth overall. Both numbers match those same marks from last season. So at the very least, he broke even for the year, and he stands to improve even more in 2022. Even with an Irish loss, he can consider this season a personal success.

Here are some of the things that were tweeted after Diggs’ touchdown, even if it came at a point in the game where many might have figured the game already was over:

 

Notre Dame fans fed up with Drew Pyne vent on Twitter

Do your feelings about Pyne mirror these tweets?

You have to feel bad for [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag]. He became an accidental starting quarterback for Notre Dame after [autotag]Tyler Buchner[/autotag] went down with a season-ending injury during the Irish’s second game. To his credit, he has handled this situation about as well as he possibly can. However, none of that matters to a loud part of the Irish fan base that has seen more of Pyne than it cares to any longer.

Before the first half against Syracuse even ended, people filled Twitter with anti-Pyne tweets to the point where Pyne was trending. To Pyne’s credit, he did complete a long pass to [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] during the half’s final minute to set up a short touchdown pass to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag]. Still, it’s unlikely that impressive last drive will be enough to flip people’s opinions on Pyne. The interception he threw to end the drive before the touchdown still might be more fresh in people’s minds. Here are some examples:

Twitter reacts to Logan Diggs’ go-ahead touchdown in second quarter

Finally, a touchdown for Diggs.

So far, Notre Dame has proven itself to at least be on the same footing as Syracuse. Some people might have had doubts given that on paper, the Orange are superior at almost everything. Instead, the Irish are showing they didn’t travel to the JMA Wireless Dome to be a foil. If you don’t believe that, check out [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag]’ 3-yard touchdown run to cap a run-heavy drive and give the Irish a 14-7 lead:

https://twitter.com/NDFootball/status/1586403195189792768

The fact that Diggs had to wait this long to get his first touchdown of 2022 probably won’t sit well with him. At the same time, the fact that he’s reached the end zone at all this season has to be a big weight lifted off his shoulders. He’s often forgotten among all the talk about [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] and [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag], but he is just as much a threat as them.

Here’s what Twitter had to say about the touchdown:

Twitter reacts to Notre Dame’s Chris Tyree’s fourth-quarter touchdown

Nice score.

Notre Dame probably needed one more score to make it incredibly difficult for UNLV to come back. The Irish had given up a touchdown, making the score 30-14. Then, they had a run-heavy drive that began in the third quarter and ended in the fourth. [autotag]Logan Diggs[/autotag] did most of the carrying, but it was [autotag]Chris Tyree[/autotag] who ran for an 8-yard touchdown to put the Irish up, 37-14:

It’s nice to see Tyree make a difference on the scoreboard during a season when he is becoming more and more forgotten with the emergence of [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]. Even if this touchdown served as little more than insurance for the Irish, the fact that he’s made a difference in the score at all has to be fulfilling for him. Maybe this is the motivation he needs to have an amazing rest of the year. For now, he surely will be happy to read tweets like these:

Twitter reacts to Notre Dame’s Mitchell Evans’ direct-snap touchdown

Remember this kid?

With all the hoopla surrounding [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag] this season, it can be easy for Notre Dame fans to forget about [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag]. You might have forgotten about him anyway because he only made his season debut against Stanford. Finally, he had a chance to show his value late in the second quarter against UNLV. [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag] set him up with a 21-yard run to the Rebels’ 1-yard line, and then, with Pyne having gone to the sidelines with a potential injury, Evans took a direct snap and found the end zone with ease:

Maybe Evans hasn’t been able to do anything as far as what’s expected of a tight end these days, but you never know when your number is going to get called in any given situation. Evans took this particular situation and shined in the best way possible. It gave the Irish a 30-7 lead, and fans were grateful for it. Here are some of the things Irish fans said on Twitter after the touchdown:

Twitter reacts to Audric Estime’s go-ahead touchdown before halftime

Notre Dame has found itself trading touchdowns with North Carolina. It’s a little surprising given how little success the Irish have had on offense for the first month of the season, but we’ll take it. The question is whether they can survive a …

Notre Dame has found itself trading touchdowns with North Carolina. It’s a little surprising given how little success the Irish have had on offense for the first month of the season, but we’ll take it. The question is whether they can survive a blow-for-blow game for 60 minutes. The answer to that will come soon enough.

After a game-tying score by [autotag]Michael Mayer[/autotag], the Irish took the lead on a 30-yard play-action touchdown pass from [autotag]Drew Pyne[/autotag] to [autotag]Lorenzo Styles[/autotag]. The Tar Heels responded quickly when Drake Maye hit J.J. Jones for a 43-yard reception to the Notre Dame 3-yard line, then found Josh Downs for his second touchdown of the game three players later. The game wouldn’t stay tied for long as a series of big runs and a couple of nice passes got the Irish to the 1. It was from there that [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] ran into the end zone to put the Irish back in front.

The Irish made the lead 24-14 on a 40-yard field goal from [autotag]Blake Grupe[/autotag], but here’s how Twitter reacted to the go-ahead score: