Drew Pyne Praised in Notre Dame Win Week After Video of Tommy Rees Yelling at QB

Head coach Marcus Freeman looks to have turned things around at Notre Dame after Saturday's 45-32 victory over North Carolina.

The Fighting Irish have now won back-to-back games following their 0-2 start. This was their best offensive performance so far, putting up season highs in points, total yards (576), passing yards (289) and rushing yards (287).

Quarterback Drew Pyne has looked good since getting chewed out by offensive coordinator Tommy Rees in the first quarter of last week's game against California. The sophomore went 24-of-34 and set career highs with 289 yards passing and three touchdowns.

After going scoreless and racking up 25 yards on their first two drives combined, Pyne led the Irish to scores on six consecutive possessions to open up a 38-14 lead early in the third quarter.

Pyne had four completions of at least 20 yards against the Tar Heels. He and Tyler Buchner combined for nine such completions in the first three games of the season.

It's been encouraging to see Notre Dame's offense rebound from a brutal stretch to begin the season. It started with a rough showing in a 21-10 loss against Ohio State that was on prime-time national television.

Things bottomed out one week later with a 26-21 loss to Marshall in the Fighting Irish's home opener. The defeat snapped the program's 42-game winning streak against opponents unranked in the Associated Press Top 25 poll.

It made Freeman the first head coach in program history to lose his first three games. He served as interim head coach for Notre Dame's 37-35 loss to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl.

Since the second quarter of last week's win over Cal, Notre Dame has put up 69 points in its last seven quarters of football. Beating North Carolina won't go down as a marquee moment for the Fighting Irish, but it could end up serving as a crucial turning point for the team.

Next up for Notre Dame is a matchup with No. 19 BYU on Oct. 8 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.