Jeremiyah Love didn’t come home with the Heisman. That’s not surprising at all given that it’s become a quarterback award and the last week has shown many in the national media’s disdain for Notre Dame football.
Finishing third will have zero impact on the way he’s remembered by Notre Dame fans. Much like the Rocket, Love’s unique talent will be celebrated by everyone who had the privilege of watching him play college football. He deserved to win the Doak Walker award as the top running back in the country.
I was a huge fan of Love’s when Notre Dame originally offered him. When he signed with the Irish, here’s something I wrote about him in my five favorite prospects piece:
Electric is the word to describe Love’s speed and I was a big fan as soon as Notre Dame offered. I even had him in the ISD Fab 50 well before most places had him as a 4-star.
He’s one of the best big play running backs in the cycle and I think he can develop into a threat running and receiving. I’m very excited to see how Notre Dame ends up using them in their offense over the next few years.
I had high expectations for him and he easily surpassed them.
His numbers were impressive this past season. He finished third in the country in yards from scrimmage per game despite sharing the backfield with Jadarian Price and both didn’t get the touches they would have if the Irish didn’t win by blowing so many opponents out this season.
Love could technically come back for his senior season, but no one should expect him to. He’s going to be a first round pick and might be the rare running back selected in the top-10. If he’s done at Notre Dame, he’ll end his college career seventh in total rushing yards and tied for third in rushing touchdowns in the history of the program.
According to PFF, Love forced 164 missed tackles during his career. That means he made a defender miss a tackle on one out of every three touches he had over the last three years. That doesn’t even account for all the times he hit the turbo button and simply ran away for defenders for long touchdowns.
His highlight reel could match any running back in college football over the last couple of decades. There’s almost too many top plays of his to put into a list but I’m going to do my best with what I think are the top-10 Jeremiyah Love plays from his time at Notre Dame.
10. Devastating lead block vs Georgia Tech
This might be a curve ball for those expecting a whole bunch of explosive runs, but this block is embedded in my memory. For everyone who thought Love was a track star posing as a football player, they were proven wrong again and again.
9. Skinny Love makes three guys miss in the Sun Bowl
Love’s first game with a bigger role in the offense came in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State as a true freshman. He wasn’t running behind an elite offensive line that day so his overall numbers weren’t great, but he showed this play in particular showed what a nightmare he was going to be to tackle over the next couple of years.
This was the last time we saw the skinny freshman version of Love.
8. Throwback screen vs Louisville
The play call and the blocking in front of him were more of the star on this 32-yard touchdown, but the finish by Love was perfect and that score ended up being the difference in the game.
There were some wild momentum swings that day and it felt to me like that was the day when the 2024 team truly started to believe they could overcome just about anything came their way.
7. 94-yard run vs Boston College
Who else could have a 94-yard touchdown not crack their top-five plays of their college career? Anyone breaking a run like that has to be special. Anyone who is fast enough to look over to the sideline to find his position coach on his own side of the 50-yard line is a different level of athlete.
6. One-handed catch vs Texas A&M
Because of how the season ended, this game will always be a bittersweet reminder of how the College Football Playoff committee shouldn’t have had an argument to leave Notre Dame out. But no matter what the result in this game, Love had a fantastic performance and the highlight was this one-handed catch that he finished in the end zone.
5th. Tie - Hurdle and truck stick vs USC
It’s cheating to put two here, but since they both happened in the same game against the same player (Kamari Ramsey), I figured why not?
The hurdle was too smooth. He treated it like he was skipping over a bag in warmups.
The truck stick didn’t get talked about enough. How many backs can leap over you and then run you over? The list is short.
4. Not down vs Navy
Sometimes words aren’t necessary.
3. Spin move vs Pitt
I could be wrong, but I think this was the moment when Pat Narduzzi knew his pregame speech about this game being a reality show was a mistake.
Imagine being that safety when they watched the film on Sunday.
2. 98-yard house call vs Indiana
This was the first touchdown of the 12-team CFP and it was also the moment when we all realized that Love might be superhuman. He wasn’t close to 100% in this game and for the entire playoff run last season.
It didn’t stop him from going 98 and making a definitive statement.
1. Penn State touchdown
This clip doesn’t even do it justice. I’ve watched this play about 200 times and many of them have been in slow motion with musical accompaniment.
I never saw it with anyone using Defying Gravity, but someone should because that’s what he did here. He had no business staying on his feet.
If someone said this was the best short yardage touchdown they’ve ever seen, it would be tough to disagree with them. It might be.
When it comes to running backs who have played Notre Dame football, it would be tough to disagree with anyone who said they thought Love was the best to ever do it. He just might be.
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