Explosive plays and defensive scores defined Notre Dame's dominant final quarter, showcasing a relentless Irish squad.
Now that the awards have been handed out, the college football playoffs have begun and players are now starting to declare for the NFL Draft or the transfer portal, it's time to close the book on the 2025 season for Notre Dame. This season, we saw some greatness, some good, some bad and some down right ugly football at times. Before we can officially move onto the offseason, it's time to recap this regular season by breaking it down into four separate quarters. Let's finish this season recap by breaking down their most dominant quarter of the regular season.
Pitt - W 37-15
This game was the definition of the final score not reflecting the level of dominance that Notre Dame displayed on November 15. The Irish came out swinging taking a 21-3 lead into halftime. Explosive plays was the name of the game for Notre Dame in this outing. Running back Jeremiyah Love had, yet another, highlight reel play spinning off of a tackler and taking it 56 yards for a touchdown. Receiver Malachi Fields made a spectacular one-handed grab and had his first two-touchdown game of the season.
Defensively, the Irish started out the game with a big hit from Adon Shuler virtually ending a drive from Pitt and quarterback Mason Heintschel. On their ensuing drive, safety Tae Johnson picked off Heintschel and returned it for a touchdown. The Panthers first touchdown of the game came on a pick six by linebacker Rasheem Biles and the offense didn't punch one into the end zone until the final play of regulation. The Irish still won by 22, but it should have and could have been much more.
Syracuse - W 70-7
Truthfully, I had never seen a football game quite like this. The final score alone is enough to make anyone look twice, but it's the manner in how they scored 70 points which leaves me in utter shock. Notre Dame had scored 21 points before their offense ever touched the field. They started the game with a pick six by senior safety Jalen Stroman and followed that up with a three and out which resulted in a blocked punt recovered by Luke Talich for a touchdown. Then, on their next possession, Syracuse threw another interception this time to Leonard Moore and he returned it to the house for six.
It then only took the offense two plays to score on their first possession of the game. In fact, the Irish offense scored on their first four possession of the game. They took a 49-0 lead into halftime after scoring 35 points in the first quarter. To the dismay of many, myself included, they weren't able to complete the shut out after the Orange put a touchdown on the board on their final possession of the game. That being said, it was the craziest performance I've seen from a Notre Dame team in my lifetime.
Stanford - W 49-20
Like they do every other year, the Irish capped off the regular season out on the west coast against Stanford. This was their final opportunity to make a lasting impression on the committee and for the most part, didn't disappoint. They took a 35-3 lead into halftime and showcased every aspect of their fire power. Carr finished the night with 205 passing yards and two touchdowns, they rushed for 187 yards and four scores. But the play of the night came on special teams where defensive end Josh Burnham threw an 84-yard touchdown pass to Talich for their second score of the game.
Unfortunately, Love was injured most of the first half which prevented him from putting one more highlight reel game together prior to the Heisman ceremony. It still doesn't take away from the special season he had, but it would have been nice seeing him finish the Stanford game off with another spectacular stat line, especially knowing what we know now. Notre Dame took a 42-6 lead into the 4th quarter, but after some questionable play calling with the 2nd and 3rd team, the Cardinal were able to rattle off 14 points in the fourth quarter bring the final margin down to 29 points.
This was not the season we had imagined for Notre Dame when we talked about this team in late July and early August. With that being said, this was still a historic season for the Fighting Irish in many ways. By the end of the year, this was one of the best offenses and defenses in the country and it's a shame the playoff committee didn't see it the same. This was a Marcus Freeman led team that absolutely could have competed for a National Championship. I hope they use that fuel them going into the 2026 season.
-------
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!