Notre Dame will need to clean some things up before the competition really gets fierce. That it struggled so much for a second consecutive week undoubtedly will cause a lot of discussion about how good this team really is. For now, it can settle for a 32-29 win over a Toledo team that came into Notre Dame Stadium with something to prove and did just that even as it just came up short.
On a drive the Irish (2-0) left over from the third quarter, Tyler Buchner got the Irish into field-goal range on a 15-yard run. That set up a 30-yard field goal from Jonathan Doerer to put the Irish back in front. South Bend breathed a little easier.
The Rockets moved backwards on their first possession of the quarter by virtue of both the Irish’s defense and a couple of false starts. That enabled the Irish’s offense to set up shop at their own 45-yard line. Buchner only needed one play to hit Chris Tyree, who began the play in motion before the snap, for a 55-yard touchdown. South Bend breathed even easier than before.
It also took only one play for the Rockets to gain momentum back. Pinned back at his own 11, Bryant Koback took a handoff and found enough holes to gain 67 yards. That ultimately set up a third-and-goal from the Irish’s 8 on which he took a shovel pass to score a touchdown and bring the Rockets within two. A pass on a two-point conversion failed, so the Irish held onto a 24-22 lead.
With time winding down, the Irish focused on the ground game to eat the clock. It worked for a while, getting all the way to the Rockets’ 33. That’s when disaster struck as Desjuan Johnson forced a Kyren Williams fumble, which Zachary Ford recovered at the Rockets’ 27 with less than three-and-a-half minutes to play. Holy cow.
Needing only a field goal to take a late lead, the Rockets’ offense moved enough to set that up. However, it wasn’t needed. On a third-and-1 from the 26, Dequan Finn ran to the left and found enough open field to run into the end zone for a backbreaking touchdown to put his team up, 29-24. With 1:35 left, the Irish needed to make something happen fast.
The drive started well when Jack Coan hit Kevin Austin for a 34-yard reception to put the Irish into Rockets territory. Aided by a couple of penalties, the offense quickly found itself in the red zone and made the most of it. After having his finger popped back in on the sidelines, Coan found Michael Mayer right in front of the end zone, and he marched the short distance with his 18-yard touchdown reception. Needing a two-point conversion to protect the lead in the event of a Rockets field goal, quarterback-turned-receiver Avery Davis had enough time to find an open Williams, who caught the ball to put the Irish up three.
The Rockets had 1:09 to respond with 87 yards of field to work with and suddenly became undisciplined as they took one penalty after another. At one point, they took a timeout to avoid a 10-second runoff. Toledo’s frustrating drive ended abruptly when Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa forced a Carter Bradley fumble that was recovered by JD Bertrand. All of South Bend can exhale.
Will you be able to breathe after that, or is this frustrating? Whatever the case, a win is a win is a win.