For Notre Dame to Defeat No. 16 Syracuse, A Dominant Run Game is Required

The Irish pummeled a flailing UNLV team on Saturday, 44-21.

The offense struggled despite scoring 44 points, while the defense and special teams made a series of big plays, especially in the first half. 

Enough said. 

The Irish will now turn their attention to No. 16 Syracuse (6-1). The Orange are led by a stifling defense that’s allowing just 15.1 points per game, which ranked 6th of 131 FBS teams. 

Syracuse is coming off a close loss to No. 5 Clemson in which the Orange blew a 21-10 halftime lead and fell 27-21. As expected, it was primarily a defensive battle. 

“Obviously, Syracuse has a good defense, you watch Clemson they’ve got a good defense. I watched the Syracuse-NC State game which really was a battle on both sides of the ball, but it really was a defensive battle for a large part of that game.”

On defense, the Orange are particularly strong against the pass. The Orange rank 19th in team pass efficiency defense and allow just 173.0 pass yards per game, the 10th best mark in the nation. 

The Tigers threw for just 157 yards against the Orange, 138 of which came in the first half. Clemson instead was able to take hold of the game on the ground. 

Led by sophomore running back Will Shipley’s 172 yards and two touchdowns, Clemson racked up 293 yards on the ground.

For the Irish to defeat No. 16 Syracuse on Saturday, they may need to produce a similar performance, something they’re certainly capable of. 

The Irish averaged 226 yards on the ground over their last four games, which would rank 10th nationally among non-option offenses. 

Now that Logan Diggs is healthy, he’s begun to show star potential. He ran for 130 yards against UNLV on 28 carries. 

Diggs was sore throughout Sunday’s practice but he made it clear that his preparation for Syracuse won’t suffer because of it. 

“I'm hurting guys but we got to put the work in,” Diggs said to his teammates.

Of course, it can’t just rest on his shoulders against Syracuse.

“We’ve got to be a team that continues to use multiple running backs,” Freeman said. “We're not going to be a one-running back team. You can't. Not with the teams we play, the physicality, the number of times we rush the ball. We’ve got to use multiple running backs.”

Junior Chris Tyree has proven to be a reliable offensive weapon in 2022. He rushed for 299 yards and 2 touchdowns this season on 70 carries, but at 197 pounds, he’s best equipped to touch the ball 10 to 15 times per game.

That’s why it’s so vital sophomore running back Audric Estime must earn the trust of the Fighting Irish coaching staff. 

At 5-foot-11 and 229 pounds, Estime is a punishing runner with balance and quick feet. He is still Notre Dame’s leading rusher with 435 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and six touchdowns on the season. 

Yet he’s had an issue with fumbling as of late and carried the ball just 11 times over the last two games. Against UNLV, he finished with just three rush attempts for 17 yards and lost a fumble in the second quarter, his third in the last four games. 

“Obviously we can't put the ball on the ground,” Freeman said. “That's the reality of it. Nobody has lost faith in Audric Estime, but he understands that when you have that ball, your job is to hand it to the official. We cannot put the ball on the ground. That's something that he understands. 

“He didn't intend for that to happen, but we got to make sure it doesn't happen. That's through practice, but also from building confidence in the game too."

If the Irish can rely on a running back trio of Diggs, Tyree and Estime going forward, Notre Dame would possess one of the most dynamic backfields in college football. 

But that will only happen if Estime can hold on to the football in practice this week and earn a significant role against Syracuse.

"He's tough on himself, as are we on him,” Freeman said. “He has high expectations for himself. He understands the reality of how important it is to make sure we are in possession of that ball when we have the chance to have it in our hands. He understands the importance of that. But at the same time, we got to find ways to make sure that doesn't happen.”

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