After losing back-to-back games to start the season, Notre Dame is heading towards a gloomier year with horrible news.
Luck of the Irish? Not. After two losses, including a disaster against Marshall, Notre Dame was dealt another blow, this time by the injury bug.
On Monday, head coach Marcus Freeman announced that quarterback Tyler Buchner will likely be out for the year with a shoulder injury and would be undergoing surgery. This now leaves Drew Pyne as the starter for the Irish moving forward.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman says QB Tyler Buchner is likely out for the year: “He ended up getting I think a Grade 5 out of 6 AC sprain in his non-throwing shoulder.”
Buchner will have surgery tomorrow and the expected recovery time is 4 months.
Drew Pyne is QB1.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) September 12, 2022
Sheesh. Talk about a bad break for Notre Dame, but so far, this whole season has been a tough go, as has Freeman’s tenure. 0-3 to start the year, including the bowl game loss to Oklahoma State last season. Now, he has to deal with losing his starting quarterback while helping bring Notre Dame back to respectability this season.
Notre Dame football: Tyler Buchner injury update says QB could miss entire season
Despite losing to Ohio State in the season opener, Notre Dame looked respectable and even took a halftime lead on the Buckeyes. Against Marshall, a late pick-six doomed the Irish on a day where the Sun Belt conference reigned supreme, headlined by Appalachian State beating Texas A&M.
Still, Notre Dame is not prohibited from having a good season despite losing their starting quarterback. They could still qualify for a New Year’s Six Bowl game if they find their footing quickly and win out the rest of the year. That doesn’t seem likely, so they might be better off staying competitive.
It’s hard when you lose a starting quarterback and even more complicated when you haven’t won a game as a head coach yet. But Marcus Freeman is a former player, and he will likely turn it around, but at least for this year, it might be too late, and the task he has just got more difficult.
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