Notre Dame football vs Toledo: Offensive Grades for 2021 Week 2

Notre Dame football vs Toledo: Offensive Grades for 2021 Week 2

Quarterbacks

We got our first look at Tyler Buchner against Toledo, as he came in to give the offense a different look throughout the game. In doing so, he has to have excited most Notre Dame fans. For the most part, the Irish relied on Buchner’s running ability to give a different look on the ground.

This was key, as the offensive line struggled all game long and there was nothing on the ground, but because of Buchner’s ability on the read-option, Notre Dame was able to gain on the ground. From there, they could build off these read options, by adding on a pass option onto his routes.

This worked to great effect, with a long Chris Tyree catch and score.

In all of the excitement over Buchner, it can’t be overlooked that Jack Coan is still the starter. There is just the issue of how he played early in the game. Coan struggled to run the Irish offense. His arm strength was still an issue on deep balls, and he telegraphed a pick-6 that proved to be one of the biggest momentum swings of the game.

Still, it wasn’t all Coan’s fault, as the offensive line left him out to dry all game long.

In the end, Coan was given the ball to go take the lead with less than two minutes left in the game. He marched down the field, trusted his arm, drew several flags, and found Michael Mayer for the go-ahead score. He did so while toughing out a dislocated finger, which he had to run to the sideline to have put back into place on the play before.

It wasn’t perfect, but he deserves a lot of credit for how he played.

Grade: B