Notre Dame had a game for the ages on Saturday and it’s hard to describe exactly what happened in the 70-7 win over Syracuse.
The Orange won time of possession 41:49-18:11 and lost by 63 points. Syracuse also ran 80 plays while Notre Dame’s offense ran just 39, which includes Tyler Buchner’s kneel to end the game.
Notre Dame recorded 15 tackles for loss, five sacks, forced three turnovers, ran for 13.2 yards per carry and averaged 10.2 yards per play on the evening.
PFF has released its snap counts from Saturday’s game and it’s hard to take anything away from them outside of the fact Notre Dame was able to play a ton of kids in the final home game of the year.
OFFENSE
| POSITION | NAME | SNAPS |
| LT | Anthonie Knapp | 22 |
| LG | Sullivan Absher | 22 |
| C | Joe Otting | 22 |
| RG | Guerby Lambert | 22 |
| RT | Aamil Wagner | 22 |
| QB | CJ Carr | 22 |
| TE | Eli Raridon | 22 |
| TE | Ty Washington | 21 |
| RT | Will Black | 17 |
| RT | Matty Augustine | 17 |
| LT | Styles Prescod | 17 |
| RG | Chris Terek | 17 |
| QB | Kenny Minchey | 16 |
| RB | Jeremiyah Love | 16 |
| WR | Malachi Fields | 15 |
| TE | Jack Larsen | 14 |
| WR | Jordan Faison | 13 |
| WR | Micah Gilbert | 10 |
| WR | KK Smith | 10 |
| WR | Will Pauling | 10 |
| C | Cam Herron | 9 |
| RB | Aneyas Williams | 8 |
| WR | Alex Whitman | 8 |
| LG | Devan Houstan | 8 |
| WR | Leo Scheidler | 8 |
| RB | Nolan James Jr. | 7 |
| RB | Jadarian Price | 7 |
| WR | Elijah Burress | 6 |
| WR | Logan Saldate | 6 |
| WR | Cam Williams | 6 |
| WR | Matt Jeffery | 3 |
| TE | Justin Fisher | 3 |
| TE | Henry Garrity | 1 |
| QB | Tyler Buchner | 1 |
- The offense had a glorified practice on Saturday afternoon as I’m pretty sure they took more reps during each weekday than they did against Syracuse.
- It was a good opportunity for several young guys to see playing time and Mike Denbrock allowed Kenny Minchey to throw just enough to let the offensive reserves get quality work.
- When Jadarian Price and Jeremiyah Love combined to play 23 snaps. 23. And one can make an argument that 23 was too many.
- It’ll be hard for someone to beat the efficiency of Love. 16 plays, eight touches, 171 yards and three touchdowns. Good day at the office.
- If there was one negative, I think most would have loved to have seen Tyler Buchner get a series or two, but that likely meant the California native ripping off another scoring run.
- Cam Williams and Leo Scheidler recorded their first receptions on Saturday.
DEFENSE
| POSITION | NAME | SNAPS |
| S | Jalen Stroman | 51 |
| CB | Christian Gray | 51 |
| CB | Leonard Moore | 44 |
| S | Adon Shuler | 44 |
| DE | Boubacar Traore | 42 |
| LB | Jaylen Sneed | 40 |
| CB | Mark Zackery IV | 39 |
| DL | Jason Onye | 38 |
| CB | DeVonta Smith | 38 |
| LB | Drayk Bowen | 37 |
| DL | Jared Dawson | 34 |
| DE | Josh Burnham | 32 |
| LB | Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa | 29 |
| LB | Madden Faraimo | 28 |
| DL | Elijah Hughes | 27 |
| LB | Jaiden Ausberry | 27 |
| DL | Donovan Hinish | 25 |
| S | Luke Talich | 24 |
| DE | Junior Tuihalamaka | 23 |
| DE | Jordan Botelho | 23 |
| S | Ethan Long | 21 |
| CB | Cree Thomas | 19 |
| S | JaDon Blair | 19 |
| LB | Kahanu Kia | 17 |
| DE | Bryce Young | 16 |
| CB | Chance Tucker | 14 |
| S | Taebron Bennie-Powell | 13 |
| S | Ben Minich | 13 |
| CB | Dallas Golden | 12 |
| DL | Armel Mukam | 12 |
| DE | Joseph Reiff | 9 |
| DE | Chris Burgess | 9 |
| DL | Davion Dixon | 9 |
| LB | Teddy Rezac | 8 |
| DL | Gordy Sulfsted | 7 |
| DE | Loghan Thomas | 6 |
| DE | Preston Zinter | 6 |
| CB | Karson Hobbs | 5 |
| DL | Cole Mullins | 4 |
| DE | Kobi Onyiuke | 4 |
| LB | Ko’o Kia | 2 |
| LB | Bodie Kahoun | 2 |
| LB | Jerry Rullo | 1 |
- All eyes will be on linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa as he left the game with an injury. Viliamu-Asa was on the sidelines in the second half, but was in street clothes and emotional. The outlook doesn’t appear to be positive, but we’ll see what Marcus Freeman says on Monday.
- Freshman safety Ethan Long made the most of his playing time with two interceptions on one drive. The first was a pick-six that was called back due to a roughing the passer call, but ball doesn’t lie, and a few plays later he ended a Syracuse drive.
- It also appeared that freshmen defensive lineman Chris Burgess and Gordy Sulfsted did some positive things when they were in. Freshman safety JaDon Blair made his debut for the blue and gold.
- With Tae Johnson out, Jalen Stroman made a statement. He led the Irish with eight tackles and then added two tackles for loss, one interception and blocked a punt.
It was one of those special moments that Stroman not only deserved but also earned. He missed most of the 2024 season at Virginia Tech and then his time at Notre Dame hadn’t exactly gone how he planned, but he stayed ready. That’s how teams play deep into the playoffs, as injuries happen and depth is needed. Stroman is an example of staying ready despite not always seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.
- As mentioned earlier, it’s hard to take much away from this game on either side of the ball, but Notre Dame’s deep.
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