SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame football team utilized a special effort from junior defensive end Isaiah Foskey and rode a strong performance from the offensive line and sophomore running back Logan Diggs to secure a 44-21 victory over the visiting UNLV Rebels. The Irish improve to 4-3 on the season, while the Rebels fall to 4-4.
The game was the Irish’s Cleats for a Cause game. The Irish wore special edition cleats with the logos of four non-profit organizations from the South Bend community. ‘Cleats for a Cause’ will support the South Bend Center for the Homeless, the Boys and Girls Club of St. Joseph County, the YMCA of Greater Michiana and Cultivate Food Rescue. The game-worn footwear will be auctioned off with all proceeds equally distributed among the four charities.
The Irish special teams proved to be just that Saturday afternoon. Foskey and the punt block unit blocked two punts. Jon Sot and the punt team averaged 43.5 yards per kick. Blake Grupe made three of four field goal attempts and hit all five point after kicks. The Irish’s average starting field position for the day was at its own 46, and Notre Dame started seven of 15 drives in UNLV territory.
Quarterback Drew Pyne led the Irish offense. The sophomore finished 14-for-28 for 205 yards and two scores. Diggs was the feature back on the ground, setting new career bests with 130 yards on 28 carries. Chris Tyree added 43 yards on 10 attempts and Pyne rushed three times for 30 yards.
Michael Mayer continued to show his dominance, catching six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Braden Lenzy added four catches for 38 yards and scored a touchdown. Jayden Thomas finished with a pair of catches for 40 yards.
Foskey finished with five tackles, three sacks, three tackles for loss, a quarterback hurry and became the first player in Irish history to block two punts in the same game. Foskey brings his career sack total to 21.5, now tying for third-most in program history, three off the all-time record set by Justin Tuck (2002-04).
Linebacker JD Bertrand finished with a team-high seven tackles, five solo, 1.5 for loss, a half sack and a pass break up. Houston Griffith, Clarence Lewis and Marist Liufau each finished with five tackles, combining for three for loss. Lewis added a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery.
How It Happened
After receiving the opening kick, the Irish offense went right to work. Notre Dame took the opening drive 75 yards on six plays. Pyne hit two of three passes for 60 yards and Estime capped the series with a 12 yard scoring run.
The Irish defense forced a three-and-out, Notre Dame went back to it. Notre Dame connected on a Blake Grupe 43-yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-0 4:56 into game action.
UNLV got on the board on its next possession, capitalizing on a 74-yard run by Courtney Reese to put the Rebels down at the Notre Dame one. The Rebels used the option to the left to score the touchdown to cut the lead to 10-7 after Daniel Gutierrez’s PAT was true with 9:10 left in the first quarter.
Notre Dame special teams came up big as Foskey blocked a UNLV. Jordan Botelho recovered as the Irish took over on the Rebel 20 yard line. Pyne found Mayer on a crossing route from 20 yards out for the score to extend the lead to 17-7.
Another blocked punt by Foskey put the Irish in business at the UNLV 14. After having a touchdown pass overturned on video review, the Irish settled for a 27-yard field goal by Grupe to go up 20-7 with 3:58 left in the first quarter.
Special teams again gave the Irish offense the ball in plus territory. Brandon Joseph returned the UNLV punt 20 yards to set up the Irish at the UNLV 32. Grupe came on and booted through a 46-yard field goal for his third of the quarter and put the Irish up 23-7.
The second quarter saw the Irish and Rebels trade blows before the Irish found the end zone. Another Joseph punt return started the Irish on the UNLV side of the 50 as three-straight runs moved the Irish up 11 yards. Pyne scrambled for a gain of 21 to put Notre Dame down at the one. Tight end Mitchell Evans carried for his second time of the drive, taking the snap and diving in for the score. Grupe was true on the point after and Notre Dame took the 30-7 lead with 4:10 remaining in the half.
UNLV opened the second half scoring on their second possession. The Rebels went 76 yards on nine plays, capped by a Harrison Bailey two-yard score to cut the lead to 30-14 with 8:06 in the third quarter.
The Irish offensive line and Diggs took over on Notre Dame’s next series, scoring in 13 plays, picking up 61 of 62 yards on the ground. The drive drained 7:10 off of the clock, as Tyree put the exclamation mark on the series with an eight-yard scoring run to extend the lead to 37-14. The seven-plus minute drive is the longest for the Notre Dame offense this season.
The Rebels showed fight as they drove 75 yards on 11 plays to score a touchdown on a Jordan Younge-Humphrey one-yard plunge.
The score set up an onside kick attempt that was recovered by the Irish’s Deion Colzie as Notre Dame took over inside UNLV territory for the seventh time of the game. The Irish went 46 yards, Diggs running for 33 of those yards before Pyne flipped to Lenzy in motion for a four-yard score to extend the lead to 44-21.
The Irish forced a UNLV punt and knelt the ball on its next possession to secure the win.
Up Next
The Irish hit the road next weekend for a matchup in upstate New York against the Syracuse Orange.