Previewing BYU vs Notre Dame with a Notre Dame Insider

Notre Dame and BYU will both travel to Las Vegas this weekend for a Saturday night showdown at Allegiant Stadium. The Cougars, who are ranked no. 16 in the polls, are underdogs heading into this game. Today, we caught up with Irish insider Bryan Driskell to get a BYU-Notre Dame from a Notre Dame perspective. You can check out more of Bryan's content here.

Q: How healthy is Notre Dame heading into this game? 

A: They are as healthy as they’re going to be this season. Quarterback Tyler Buchner and backup tight end Kevin Bauman both went down with season-ending injuries in the first three weeks. Beyond that, Notre Dame was able to use the bye week to get everyone else healthier. The Irish had a couple of defensive backs that were banged up (Ramon Henderson, DJ Brown), and the time off allowed them to rest up and heal. Cornerback Cam Hart dealt with a hamstring injury during the first month, and the time off was good for him as well. All-American guard Jarrett Patterson missed the opener with a foot injury that also cost him most of fall camp. He has steadily gotten healthier and healthier, and the UNC game was his best game of the season. The bye week allowed him to also get rest and heal up, and head coach Marcus Freeman noted that tight end Michael Mayer was a bit banged up as well, and he also got some rest during the bye week. 

Q: It seems like Drew Pyne had a breakout performance against North Carolina - what about his play has improved since he took over the starting job?

I’m not quite ready to call that a breakout performance. Pyne was quite good against the Tar Heels, but the reality is UNC has one of the worst defenses in all of Power Five. I am comfortable saying it was a very good step in the right direction. Notre Dame’s line kept him clean, and that allowed Pyne to get comfortable. He was decisive, got the ball out where it needed to go and his ball placement was as good as I’ve seen from him at Notre Dame. Pyne was willing to attack down the field, which was important. He didn’t hit most of those throws, but after he took some early shots it forced North Carolina to back off a bit, which opened up more middle of the field throws and also softened things up for the ground game. Moving forward, Pyne will need to start hitting some of those deep shots while also not forcing balls into tight quarters unnecessarily. 

Q: What are some areas where Notre Dame should be able to have an advantage over BYU? 

A: Notre Dame should have an advantage in the trenches, which will be discussed even more in the next question. I said this going into Notre Dame’s matchup against North Carolina, but the Tar Heel offense had not seen a defense with Notre Dame’s length and speed. UNC went into that game averaging 51.3 points per game, 547.3 yards of offense, 7.6 yards per play and 237.3 rushing yards per game. It was an explosive offense with a dual-threat quarterback, but Notre Dame smothered them. At one point it was 38-14 and the Tar Heels were struggling on offense before adding a couple of garbage touchdowns. That could be an issue for the Cougars, especially if Puka Nacua doesn’t play, or isn’t 100%. One difference between the Tar Heels and BYU is the Cougars have a better offensive line. Will it be enough to contain the Irish front? We’ll see, but on paper and on film Notre Dame holds that advantage. 

Q: What are some areas where BYU should have an advantage over Notre Dame? 

A: BYU has a very underrated pass defense and the Irish have struggled to throw the football for much of the season. I am impressed by how sound the secondary plays in the pass game and the Cougars do well to drop extra defenders into coverage. I think that hurts them in the run game and it’s part of the reason they struggle to get after the quarterback, but it does help them effectively limit the effectiveness of the opposing pass game.

Q:  Finish this sentence: Notre Dame wins this game if...

A: Notre Dame wins this game if they control the line of scrimmage. I don’t believe the Fighting Irish can beat BYU without its ground game getting going and if Pyne isn’t allowed to get comfortable. Notre Dame has struggled throwing the ball much of the season, and this offense is at its best when the ground game is rolling and it sets up the pass game. Defensively, Notre Dame must shut down the BYU ground game. I know that might sound strange considering the Cougars are a much better passing team this fall, but that’s kind of the point. If BYU is able to achieve balance, it makes their pass game extremely hard to defend. If Notre Dame can shut down the run game with its box defenders like it did against Cal and North Carolina, force BYU to be one dimensional and also put pressure on the quarterback like it did in those games, the Cougars will have a tough time scoring enough points to win. 

Q: In terms of on-field performance, what is one area where Notre Dame has missed Brian Kelly and one area where Notre Dame has not missed Brian Kelly? 

A: I really don’t look at anything that Notre Dame misses on the field about Brian Kelly. This Notre Dame team has to play cleaner football, there is no doubt about that. That’s how Notre Dame played early last season, however, but the difference is the Irish played inferior opponents early last season. On the other side, Notre Dame is recruiting in a way it hasn’t for over a decade and the Irish play with more passion and fire than we saw under Kelly. The business-like approach is gone, and that’s a positive.