WATCH: Notre Dame wideout Jayden Thomas makes incredible touchdown catch over defender
Maybe Notre Dame will start playing in Las Vegas more often if their receivers keep making catches like the one Jayden Thomas made against contested coverage for a touchdown late in the first half.
Going down the right sideline with just more than a minute to play in the half and the Irish leading BYU, 12-6, quarterback Drew Pyne aired out a pass toward Thomas but left it about a yard short. But it was no matter for the redshirt freshman receiver, who worked back to the ball and snatched it over the defender for a Randy Moss-esque touchdown.
From another angle, you can see just how narrowly makes the catch after adjusting to the throw — and he somehow stayed on his feet to score.
Inadvertently throwing the defensive back to the ground on your way to the endzone? That’s just icing on the cake as Notre Dame lead the Cougars, 18-6, at the half.
Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer was in a good mood after a record-setting performance in the win
Even after his record-breaking night, Notre Dame tight end Michael Mayer declined to steal the spotlight from his teammates. Not only did Mayer break the program record — which he set — for catches in a single game by a tight end with 11, but he also became the all-time leader in receptions at the position.
But in his postgame interview, Mayer had little interest in talking about his personal accolades. Instead, he put the focus on the 28-20 victory against No. 16 BYU, the third straight for Notre Dame after they started the season 0-2.
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“Tonight’s not about me,” he said. “Today’s about the team getting a big win. Kind of feels like we’re getting back on track now after a little shaky start to the season. The offense played great. The defense played great. I’m proud of this team. We did what we had to do. We came to Vegas and got a W. That’s all that mattered.”
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Mayer also gave a shout out to Pyne, who received some criticism for his performance over the past couple of weeks. But Pyne looked the part Saturday, finishing 22-of-28 passing for 262 yards, three touchdowns and one interception as Notre Dame got the win.
As Mayer said after the game, he couldn’t have broken the record without his quarterback.
“Three weeks ago, half the country didn’t believe in him,” Mayer said. “Everybody’s saying everything on Twitter, social media and all that stuff. All that kid does it battle, fight and come to work every day. Me and him are doing extra routes after practice for 30 minutes trying to get that connection going. I’m proud of that guy. I really am. He’s worked his tail off since Day 1 and he deserves this win more than anybody. Drew Pyne deserves this win.
“…(The record) feels good. It really does. But then again, I can’t do that without Drew Pyne throwing me the ball, without the O-line blocking for Drew, without the other receivers knowing what routes they’re running. It’s a big time team effort and it’s gonna be the rest of the season. That’s how it always is here at Notre Dame.”