Patrick Johnson of Notre Dame partially blocks a kick by Tyner's Tylex Stoudemire during the game on August 26, 2016.Everything that could possibly go wrong for Notre Dame did Friday night. All except where it counted the most, and that's all that really mattered as the Fighting Irish beat Tyner 25-7 in a nonregion football game at Jim Eberle Field that was delayed by weather.
The Irish coaches' headsets shorted out on the sideline just before kickoff, the offense committed 12 penalties through the first three quarters and promising freshman quarterback Landon Allen was carried off early in the first quarter with what looked to be a severe ankle injury.
If that weren't enough, the game was delayed by more than an hour late in the third quarter by lightning. That came just after Notre Dame had nailed a 35-yard field goal to extend its lead to 10 points and seemed to have all the momentum back on its side.
"I was just waiting on our lights to stop working, the scoreboard to shut down and all our footballs to deflate," Irish coach Charles Fant said.
Before Allen left the game, Notre Dame's offense looked sharp on its opening drive, needing just six plays to cover 69 yards, highlighted by a 52-yard pass from Allen to Calvin Sims to the Tyner 3. Junior Akil Sledge took it the final 3 yards for the score.
Four plays later, Irish senior defensive back Andrew Banks scooped up a fumbled lateral and raced 21 yards untouched for his team's second TD in the span of 1:44.
But on Notre Dame's next offensive snap, following a short Tyner punt that set the Irish up at the Rams' 40, Allen started to scramble, then tried to slide between two Rams defenders to avoid contact but landed awkwardly and was helped from the field.
Fant said he feared the ankle was broken.
The Irish offense never looked the same from there, gaining just 8 total yards on their next four possessions, including six penalties, a fumble and an interception before halftime.
"It's no secret we want to run the ball," Fant said. "But having a special quarterback like Landon, plus a lot of really good athletes around him, allowed us to be able to throw the ball when we wanted. It's disappointing.
"We had to go to our third-string quarterback because our other starter (T.J. McGhee) was out with a concussion he got last week. That really limited what we were able to do on offense. But I thought our defense played lights out, and that was the difference."
When lightning stopped the game, Notre Dame's defense had allowed just 91 total yards.
Tyner had taken momentum in the second quarter, pulling within 14-7 on Devon Waight's 2-yard scoring run that capped a nine-play, 57-yard drive. The Rams had several other drives stalled by penalties and four first-half fumbles.
After pinning Tyner's offense deep in its own territory early in the third, Notre Dame's defense pushed the Rams back another 5 yards. A short punt by Tyner gave the Irish the ball near midfield, and despite having a TD negated by a penalty, they were able to overcome three other penalties for a 35-yard field goal from sophomore Andy McMeen for a 10-point cushion just before the weather delay.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfree press.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.