I’m not sure if Notre Dame can win a national championship under head coach Marcus Freeman, but even if it does, it might not be Freeman’s greatest accomplishment while managing the Fighting Irish.

If you recall Freeman’s first season as Notre Dame’s head coach, the Irish started 0-2 before Drew Pyne took over at quarterback to replace injured Tyler Buchner. Pyne and Freeman helped Notre Dame to an 8-2 record the rest of the season before Pyne entered the transfer portal before the bowl game.

Going 8-2 with Drew Pyne as your starting quarterback is no small feat. In fact, this is as impressive as anything Notre Dame has done since Marcus Freeman was named head coach in December 2021.

Drew Pyne’s Struggles Since Leaving Notre Dame

Pyne left Notre Dame for Arizona State, where he spent the 2023 season. In two games last season, Pyne completed 26 of 49 passes for 273 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. The Sun Devils lost both of those contests.

Pyne then transferred to Missouri, where he spent this season and was forced into action after quarterback Brady Cook was injured against Auburn. Things were tough for the Tigers with Pyne as the signal caller.

Pyne had a tough performance on Saturday, throwing three interceptions while completing 6 of 12 pass attempts for 42 yards against Alabama. He has thrown for 248 yards on 55 attempts on the year and has yet to score a touchdown. He also failed to pass for more than 21 yards.

Freeman and Tommy Rees Deserve Credit for 8-2 Run

Drew Pyne wasn’t some kind of superhero while at Notre Dame, and it wasn’t like he lost his magic potion after leaving South Bend.

He came in and led a key push that helped flip the script in a 2021 contest against Wisconsin before showing flashes a week later against Cincinnati. But Pyne wouldn’t throw another pass until 2022.

Forced into the starting role due to an injury to Tyler Buchner, Pyne averaged 8.0 yards per catch in 2022 and threw 20 touchdowns and just six interceptions on 254 pass attempts. It wasn’t a Heisman Trophy-worthy performance, but it was far more serviceable than anything that’s happened since.

That’s a compliment to the Notre Dame coaching staff in 2022, which includes Marcus Freeman but also includes Tommy Rees. Rees, of course, left after the year to call plays for Nick Saban at Alabama, and it is sometimes remembered how hard he coached Pyne that year.

That’s not to knock Drew Pyne, he’s shown he can have some success in major college football. It would be more accurate to say that a quarterback’s success is all about skill, but there better be quality coaching and game planning that takes that into account.

Pyne got that at Notre Dame.

I’m not so sure that’s happening to nearly the same degree in Missouri.

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