Marcus Freeman gets the first win of his Notre Dame career in a 24-17 defeat of Cal
Marcus Freeman finally secured his first career win as the first-year Notre Dame head coach on Saturday in a hard-fought 24-17 win over Cal at Notre Dame Stadium.
Irish junior tight end Michael Mayer scored on a 6-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Drew Pyne with 9:16 left in the fourth quarter to secure a needed get-well victory.
Already the first Irish head coach to begin his career 0-3, Freeman avoided an 0-4 start in a game that featured three lead changes in the second half.
Offensively, Notre Dame got good work from junior tailback Chris Tyree, who finished with 17 carries for 64 yards, along with five receptions for 44 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, Notre Dame senior defensive lineman Jacob Lacey enjoyed the best game of his career with 5.0 total tackles and 2.0 sacks.
The first quarter provided little offense on a sunny and hot day at the stadium. The two teams combined for only 100 total yards, 3 first downs and 7 punts in the opening stanza.
The scoring began in the second quarter when Pyne fumbled away a snap to Cal on the first play of the quarter.
Four plays later, Cal (2-1) was in the end zone with a 7-0 lead on an 18-yard touchdown catch by Bears redshirt freshman wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant from graduate quarterback Jack Plummer.
Notre Dame (1-2) tied things up 7-7 on its next drive when Pyne hit Tyree on a 21-yard touchdown reception.
A 34-yard field goal by Cal graduate Dario Longhetto late in the second quarter gave the Bears a 10-7 halftime lead.
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A first half that featured little offense and lots of punts gave way to a high-scoring second half in which the two teams combined for 24 points.
Notre Dame responded on its first offensive drive of the second half when sophomore tailback Audric Estime scored on a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Irish a 14-10 lead.
The Irish lead was short-lived.
On its ensuing offensive drive, Cal went 75 yards on 10 plays to take a 17-14 advantage on a 1-yard quarterback sneak from Plummer.
Irish graduate placekicker Blake Grupe tied the game at 17 on the second play of the fourth quarter with a 47-yard field goal before Pyne capped the 7-play, 66-yard game-winning drive with the TD pass to Mayer.
The Notre Dame defense played well with 6 sacks and 6 quarterback hurries, while also holding Cal to just 4-of-15 on 3rd-down conversions.
Cal moved the ball to the Notre Dame 29-yard line trying to tie the game on its final possession but got no closer, though a wild play on a Hail Mary pass in the end zone made things interesting on the last play of the game.
