It started as a simple locker room challenge.
Notre Dame running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price combined for four touchdowns last week against Texas A&M. This week, they wanted to raise the bar.
Mission accomplished.
“We scored four last week and we were like, ‘OK, we have to top it this week,’” stated Price. “We have to get six and we did that. I had four. He had two. So that was the funny thing. That was just our challenge we had within the running backroom. ‘Hey, we want to score six in this game.’ Challenging ourselves to be more explosive every game and do the little things to help the team win.”
Price delivered with nine carries for 74 yards and three rushing touchdowns. His fourth score came on a 100-yard kickoff return with one minute left in the second quarter.
“It felt good, especially because the first one that I returned earlier in the game, I was pretty close,” Price said. “I had one guy to beat and I would have scored, so I owed them one on the second one.”
Notre Dame’s offense scored seven touchdowns with ease, while they also tallied 535 total yards. The Irish run game was responsible for 254 of those and establishing the run was the mindset entering the day.
“This week it was all about putting our foot down and showing that we're a dominant team on the ground,” explained Price. “When it was time for CJ (Carr) to throw the ball in the air, he made plays happen and we saw that in the first play of the game. I think we did a great job just sticking to the plan, not doing anything crazy and just trusting (Mike) Denbrock.”
Head coach Marcus Freeman was thrilled with the big day from the Texas native, but that’s not what he wanted to discuss following the game.
“I'll say this every time you ask about JD,” Freeman explained. “Yes, he's talented, but he is the most unselfish individual, along with others on our team. That's what I want to point out. Not his great play, not as touchdowns, but that guy, that individual could have the ball, be on the field every single play. But what does he do? He says Coach, if you want JLove in there, put him in there, but when I get my opportunity, I'm going to make the most of it.
“If we have a team of unselfish individuals and they continue to commit and be selfless and sacrifice, we will be pretty special. That's what I always praise about that guy, because that's the trait that I want our players to emulate, not the talent, the touchdowns. It's the unselfishness that he displays.”
The game wasn’t without its challenges. There was a one-hour and 54-minute weather delay late in the first half.
It’s nothing this group hasn’t been before, but it’s always tough to stay loose and focused in a tight locker room.
Notre Dame’s staff chose not to do much coaching during the break and it paid off.
“No one likes a delay when you're out there on fire. The last thing you want to do is go to locker room and get stiff. They got stiff just like we did. So come out and get stretched up and whatnot.
“The last thing you want to do is overcoach within that hour and a half. The main thing we did was hammering on the details, the little things that we saw throughout the first half of the game. I don't think a lot of people expected the outcome of the kickoff return, but that just goes to show that, no matter what phase, no matter what unit is out there, we're ready to go when our name is called.”
In 2023, Notre Dame and NC State had a lengthy weather delay and the Irish started fast with as Audric Estimè went 80 yards to the house.
It might say something about the confidence of the Irish offense (and where the defense is at) as they were discussing Estimè’s run during the break.
“That's all we were talking about during the delay,” said Price. “We were like, ‘Remember when Audric scored that?’
“I will say I did not have a hot dog during the delay like he did, so it's not the exact same, but it brought back memories for sure.”
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