Notre Dame won a lopsided Senior Day game over visiting Syracuse to give the Irish their ninth consecutive win
NOTRE DAME, IND. - Notre Dame’s 70-7 win over Syracuse was over before it started. The Fighting Irish (9-2) scored two defensive touchdowns and one on special teams before CJ Carr and Jeremiyah Love ever took the field and cruised to victory over the helpless Orange (3-8).
Love outgained Syracuse 103-81 in the first half by himself with Notre Dame up 49-0 at the break. He finished with 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries. Love struck a Heisman pose after his third TD of the day on a 68 -yard run on the third play of the second half. The junior running back has 1,306 yards and tied a school record with his 20th touchdown of the season. He needs just 132 yards to set the program’s single season rushing record.
Carr had an efficient day before exiting the game with a 56-0 lead after one drive in the second half. He was 5 of 9 for 49 yards and a touchdown before giving way to Kenny Minchey in the third quarter. Minchey finished his day 4 of 6 for 18 passing yards with 59 more yards on the ground, including a 25-yard touchdown run, his second career touchdown carry.
Notre Dame continued to flex its muscles and build its College Football Playoff resume. Syracuse’s offense, led by freshman quarterback Joe Filardi, had fewer first downs (6) than the Irish defense had tackles for loss (8) in the first half and mustered a mere 207 total yards, a season low for the Irish defense, in the lopsided loss. The Fighting Irish finished with 5.0 sacks, 15 tackles for loss and three interceptions, all thrown by Filardi. The quarterback scored on a six yard run with 7 seconds remaining for the Orange's lone points.
Miami, who has been ranked several spots behind Notre Dame in all three CFP rankings this season, beat Syracuse 38-10 two weeks ago. The Hurricanes led 14-0 at halftime while the Irish led the same team 35-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Lighting struck fast for the Irish. After Syracuse returned the opening kickoff to its own 41-yard line, Boubacar Traore dropped Orange running back Will Nixon for a two-yard loss on the game’s first play. Jalen Stroman then jumped a short pass on the next play and saw nothing but clear sailing to the end zone on a 44-yard pick-6.
Stroman struck again on Syracuse’s next drive when he blocked a punt that fluttered in the air and into the arms of Luke Talich, who caught it in mid-air and returned it 22 yards for another touchdown. With 12:19 to play in the first quarter, Notre Dame’s offense hadn’t seen the field, but the Irish led 14-0.
The Irish defense was not done. Leonard Moore joined the big play party with a 46-yard pick-6 on the sixth play of Syracuse’s third drive. The Orange actually picked up a first down three plays earlier.
Notre Dame’s offense took its first snap with 7:08 on the clock in the first quarter, and it took all of two plays and 36 seconds to reach the end zone. Carr hit Jordan Faison for a 14-yard gain on the first play and then Love raced to the end zone from 45 yards out to make it a 28-0 game.
Jadarian Price, who tallied 70 yards on four carries, became the next Irish player to hit a big play when he bolted 58 yards for a touchdown on the third play of Notre Dame’s second offensive possession. Having run just five offensive plays, the Irish led 35-0 with 4:01 still to play in the first quarter.
The first quarter ended with the Irish knocking on the door and facing 3rd and goal at the 1. Just four total plays took place on the Irish side of the 50 in the first quarter and Notre Dame averaged 16.3 yards per play in the quarter. The Irish were backed up five yards for a false start, but Carr hit Will Pauling for a 6-yard TD strike on the first play of the second quarter to make it 42-0.
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