Marcus Freeman announces veteran linebacker Bo Bauer will miss season with knee injury

Marcus Freeman delivered some demoralizing news on Thursday, revealing Notre Dame linebacker Bo Bauer would miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury he suffered in practice earlier this week.

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“Bo will be out for the year,” stated Freeman. “Sustained a knee injury in practice on Tuesday, which is devastating just because he’s a captain and he provides so much more than just production.

“Just the energy, the ability to motivate our players, it’ll be a tremendous loss for us. So, he’s out for the year.”

Moreover, Bauer was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2018, per the On3 Consensus. Out of Erie, Pennsylvania, the Notre Dame defender was the No. 11 overall recruit out of his home state, and the No. 35 linebacker and No. 265 overall recruit in the nation.

In the midst of his fifth season with the Fighting Irish, Bo Bauer has amassed 120 total tackles, six pass deflections, 2.5 sacks and two interceptions throughout his career. As Notre Dame continues to pick up speed after a slow start, they’ll miss the veteran linebacker on the field with them.

Marcus Freeman pushes back on the idea that Drew Pyne should have been the starter all year

Meanwhile, injury forced Notre Dame and head coach Marcus Freeman to make a quarterback switch, with Tyler Buchner out for the season. Since then, Drew Pyne has stepped up for the Fighting Irish and performed well. They have quietly won three games in a row and pulled off an upset of No. 16 BYU on Saturday.

As the focus now shifts to Stanford, Freeman was asked if he regrets not naming Pyne the quarterback starter originally. He was quick to push back on the idea, saying Buchner earned the right throughout practice this offseason. Freeman was still complimentary of the work Pyne has done for Notre Dame over the past three games but has no regrets when looking back.

“No, I don’t question that decision at all,” Freeman said. “That was earned. That was earned through practice and we made a decision. Sometimes, the results can put a mask over your eyes and cloud the process of getting to that decision. I know we didn’t win that game and three quarters that Tyler played but Tyler Buchner earned the right to be the starter through preparation. 

“Now, Drew Pyne has done a superb job and he’s done an excellent job leading this team. He’s earned the right to now be our starting quarterback and done a great job with this opportunity. But no, I don’t question our decision in terms of making Tyler the starter to start the year.”

While Buchner’s sample size is much smaller, Pyne has been completing passes at a significantly higher percentage. He’s at 72.5% on the season on 91 passes, while Buchner was at 56% before his injury. The two have the same amount of interceptions as well with two.

Against both North Carolina and BYU, Pyne threw for over 250 yards and tossed three touchdowns in there too. It’s really been the Notre Dame offense carrying the load thanks to the improved quarterback play.