Irish find offensive rhythm behind run game

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Before Notre Dame’s bye week, the offense started to click during the team’s win against North Carolina.

Now, heading into a matchup in Las Vegas this Saturday against No. 16 BYU, they must find that rhythm again.

Offensive Coordinator Tommy Rees found a way to use Notre Dame’s three-headed monster at running back in a productive way for the first time all season against the Tar Heels.

Chris Tyree, Audric Estime, and newly healthy Logan Diggs all found a way to get involved in the run game and pass game during the win in Chapel Hill that led to the offense putting up 45 points.

Rees and Estime touched on the success in the run game and the confidence booster its provides them heading into Saturday’s Shamrock Series matchup against the Cougars.

“It’s funny, I actually thought the passing game helped the run game last week, which is different,” Rees said. “But you’ve got to make them defend the width, you got to make them defend the vertical, and when you can get some advantageous boxes, we were very efficient both run and pass.”

“The week, the game we just had is definitely a confidence booster,” Estime said. “It felt great for all of us because all the hard work we put in finally got to pay off, and we got to show the abilities that we have. So, I feel like that’s definitely a big confidence booster and a game that we’re definitely going to build off of.”

“Being able to run the ball takes a lot of pressure off a lot of people, and certainly that’s something we want to be able to hang our hat on,” Rees said. “We feel like we have a great offensive line, tight ends, backs like we have the pieces, and we just have to continue to put it all together.”

On Saturday, WNDU is your home for Notre Dame football! Be sure to join us from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 16 News Now Saturday Morning as we check on the Irish from Las Vegas, where the Irish look to win their third-straight game.

At 6 p.m., we’ll get you caught up on all things Irish on 16 News Now before Countdown to Kickoff begins at 6:30 p.m. and will lead up to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

And after the game, make sure you stay tuned in to WNDU for postgame coverage and immediate reaction.

Before the Irish take the field at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, we want to hear from you in this week’s Lochmandy Auto Group Irish Fan Poll. This week, week, we’re asking: “Where would you like to see the Shamrock Series game played in the future?”

The poll will remain open until 7 p.m. Saturday. We will reveal the results before the end of Countdown to Kickoff!