The good, the bad and the ugly: Notre Dame football

South Carolina will face Notre Dame in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Both teams are 8-4 this season, looking to reach win No. 9. As the Gamecocks prepare for their final matchup, here’s a look at the Fighting Irish.

The good: running the football

Notre Dame loves to run the ball. Irish quarterbacks have only thrown more than 30 passes in two games this year, averaging 25.4 pass attempts per game. It has rushed 486 times compared to its 304 pass attempts. On those run attempts, the Irish are averaging 182.8 yards per game, which is top 50 nationally.

It starts with sophomore Audric Estimé. The 5-foot-11, 227-pound running back has been excellent, rushing for 825 yards and 11 touchdowns. He’s averaging 5.81 yards per carry and touts three games with at least 100 yards and a touchdown. Each has come against an ACC opponent. But he hasn’t been Notre Dame’s only weapon in the backfield.

Sophomore Logan Diggs and junior Chris Tyree have received a handful of carries as well to make for an imposing triple threat. Diggs has been handed the ball the most, with 152 rush attempts for 732 yards and three scores. Tyree, meanwhile, has run for 423 yards and three touchdowns.

The running backs also have been good in the red zone this year. In 45 opportunities, they’ve run the ball in 49 percent of the time.

In Notre Dame’s eight wins, the rushing attack is averaging 218.6 yards. It’s a different story in its four losses, though. The Irish only compiled 114 rush yards when they were beaten.

South Carolina hasn’t been able to consistently stop the run, allowing 192.4 yards per game. It ranks No. 113 in run defense. The Gamecocks’ worst performance of the year came against Florida on Nov. 12, in which they gave up 374 yards on the ground. But despite some struggles, the defense has come up in the clutch lately. It forced Tennessee and Clemson — both top 50 running teams — to throw the ball. The Gamecocks won both of those games to end the regular season.

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Needless to say, if Notre Dame can run as it has for most of the year, it has a good chance to win. But if South Carolina forces the Irish’s unannounced quarterback to throw, it might be another good day for the defense.

The bad: quarterback questions

Junior quarterback Drew Pyne’s departure for the transfer portal threw a wrench in the Irish’s offensive game plan. After taking over in week three, Pyne went 8-2 and threw for 2,021 yards along with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.

With less than two weeks until the bowl game, head coach Marcus Freeman will rely on his three remaining quarterbacks to fill the void.

Sophomore Tyler Buchner won the starting job heading into the season but went down with a shoulder injury in week two. His return date was set for January, but he recovered quickly. He returned to practice shortly after the bowl announcement and has a chance to play against South Carolina.

Buchner’s health and play will be the biggest questions. He hasn’t seen game action since Sept. 10. In two starts, he’s thrown for 378 yards and two interceptions. 

If he doesn’t play, the Irish will turn to their freshmen quarterbacks Steve Angeli and Ron Powlus III. Both have sat on the bench all season. Asking them to start an important game is a tall order.

South Carolina won’t have much game film to watch on Angeli or Powlus if they play. But it could be a bigger issue for Notre Dame since it would be counting on a new signal-caller under center.

Regardless of who starts, Pyne’s absence is going to hurt the team. It’s tough to go from a dependable starter each week to not knowing who will be the guy going forward. And this will inevitably be something Freeman will try to fix through the transfer portal or recruiting.

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The ugly: inconsistency

Before taking the field at Notre Dame Stadium, players walk down a stairwell and hit a sign that reads, “Play Like a Champion Today.” Winning is the expectation in South Bend. Anything less won’t do.

The Irish came into the season with lofty goals and didn’t meet them. They lost to Ohio State and Southern California — both top-10 opponents — on the road. Those were tough matchups, but there were other embarrassing games.

One week after losing to the Buckeyes to start the year, Notre Dame had a golden opportunity to get back on track against Marshall. Freeman might have been too confident, though.

“There’s no better place in the country to get our first win of this new era but here at Notre Dame Stadium,” Freeman told fans before the game.

Instead, the Thundering Herd scored two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter to complete the upset, winning 26-21. It was Notre Dame’s first loss to an unranked opponent since 2016. That’s not to say Marshall hasn’t been good this year. In its first year in the Sun Belt conference, it won eight games behind a defense that ranks No. 10 in the country.

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After falling out of the rankings, the Irish won their next three games to get back to a winning record. But once again, they lost to another lower opponent. Stanford, who finished 3-9, came into South Bend and won 16-14. The Cardinal jumped out to a 13-0 lead before Notre Dame came roaring back with two touchdowns. However, a late field goal gave Stanford the lead for the rest of the game.

In both of these losses, the Irish hurt themselves with late turnovers and playing from behind. To their credit, they rattled off five consecutive wins after losing to Stanford, including a dominant 35-14 win over Clemson.

It’s tough to tell which team will show up in Jacksonville later this month. It could be the one that runs the ball well and plays good defense to win or the one that underperforms in games where they’re favored.

South Carolina takes on the Irish at TIAA Bank Field on Friday, Dec. 30 at 3:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ABC.

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