No. 3 Notre Dame Walks Off 36-3 Over No. 12 Syracuse

BRONX, N.Y. – What was billed as a potential shootout between a pair of high-powered offenses, turned into a lop-sided tilt as Notre Dame’s defense pitched a gem here at Yankee Stadium, to lead the #3 Irish to a 36-3 victory over #12 Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.

While Notre Dame’s offense didn’t take advantage of all of its opportunities, Syracuse’s offense didn’t take advantage of any of its chances. Unless you count a field goal with 10 seconds to play on 4th-and-goal taking advantage of an opportunity. 

Notre Dame (11-0) heads to Los Angeles for its regular-season finale against USC next weekend with a trip to the College Football Playoff on the line. Meanwhile, the loss puts a damper on the Orange’s season, dropping them to 8-3 heading into their regular-season finale at Boston College next week.

Ian Book finished 23-for-37 for 292 yards and two touchdowns with an interception. Chase Claypool pulled in six passes for 98 yards and a touchdown while Miles Boykin caught seven passes for 76 yards. Alize Mack chipped in with 55 yards on three catches. Dexter Williams led the Irish on the ground with 13 carries for 74 yards and one touchdown. Alohi Gilman provided a pair of crucial interceptions and nearly came away with a third turnover, which was ultimately overturned by replay.

It was clear early the Irish’s plan was to prevent the Orange from beating them through the air, and while Syracuse did have some success on the ground, it didn’t take long to realize it wouldn’t be nearly enough to earn the victory.

Starting quarterback Eric Dungey was knocked out of the game in the first quarter after having only completed one of his four passes attempts for 10 yards with an interception. Tommy DeVito came on in relief and finished 13-for-31 for 105 yards and two interceptions. Moe Neal and Dontae Strickland combined to rush for 124 yards on 26 carries for the Orange.
While the result in itself was convincing, penalties, dropped passes and mistakes in general prevented the Irish from delivering a true shellacking.

Notre Dame took a 20-0 lead into halftime, but settled for a pair of field goals and was unable to convert a 4th and goal from the one on possessions that all could have easily gone for touchdowns. That trend continued in the second half, but by then, there was little doubt as to the outcome.

After Syracuse went three-and-out on three straight runs to start the second half, the Irish drove 41 yards on eight plays, but as they did multiple times in the first half were forced to settle for a field goal, which Justin Yoon converted from 29 yards out to make it 23-0 five minutes into the third quarter.
The Orange looked to pass on their next drive, but back-to-back sacks by Drue Tranquill and Julian Okwara ended those hopes and that drive.

The Irish added to their lead with a nine-play, 51-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a 10-yard strike from Book to Claypool on a slant. Yoon missed the extra point, leaving the score 29-0 with 3:35 remaining in the third. The drive was aided by a pass interference on a third down and an 18-yard competition from Book to Cole Kmet on 4th and 1.

Early in the fourth, Notre Dame’s defense was set to get off the field when DeVito’s deep pass on fourth down was broken up by Julian Love, but a personal foul by Khalid Kareem kept the Orange’s drive alive. Syracuse ended up settling for a 23-yard field goal attempt by Andre Szymt that clanked off the upright keeping the shutout alive midway through the fourth.

Williams put an exclamation mark on the game with a 32-yard scoring run to push the lead to 36-0 with 4:05 to play. 

It wasn’t a perfect effort from the Irish, but it was a dominating one for sure in what many had circled as the Irish’s toughest test down the stretch.

In the first half, Book finished 18-for-29 for 253 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Claypool pulled in four first-half receptions for 84 yards while Boykin hauled in six for 69 yards.

Meanwhile, DeVito and Dungey combined to complete five of 15 passes for 35 yards with three interceptions in the first two quarters, although Strickland and Neal combined for 89 yards on 14 rushing attempts.

On the game’s opening drive, the Irish offense converted a pair of first downs but were pushed behind the chains when Dexter Williams was tackled for a loss near midfield. Book’s pass to Boykin on third down was knocked away, and the Irish were forced to punt. The Orange went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, and the Irish took over near midfield for their second offensive series.

After a run for no gain and a false start penalty, it was all Book. On third-and-long, he hit Tony Jones Jr. for an 18-yard completion over the middle. Then he hit Claypool for 27 yards on a corner route before a nifty six-yard toss to Boykin on a designed read option. He completed the drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Williams. Yoon’s extra point gave the Irish a 7-0 lead six minutes into the game.

On the first play of the next drive, Dungey was picked off by Jalen Elliott, who returned it 24 yards to the Syracuse 15-yard line. A false start penalty hurt the Irish’s ability to cash in with a touchdown, but Yoon was able to convert a 26-yard field goal that put Notre Dame up 10-0 midway through the first quarter.

The Orange offense got moving on the ensuing drive, but after helping push Syracuse to midfield, Dungey went down with an apparent back injury. DeVito came in, but a pair of deep incompletions brought up fourth down for the Orange. 

Syracuse lined up to go for it but had DeVito punt it out of the shotgun, pinning the Irish at their own five.

But Book got the Irish moving quickly. Three straight completions to Boykin, Claypool and Mack covered 89 yards, setting Notre Dame up with a 1st and goal at the Syracuse three-yard line. The Irish appeared to score a touchdown a couple plays later, but Jones Jr.’s two-yard run was called back when Brock Wright was flagged for holding. After a Book incompletion on 3rd and goal, the Irish were forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Yoon that gave them a 13-0 lead with just over a minute to play in the quarter.

Neal got Syracuse going on the next possession gaining 22 yards on three carries, but Gilman picked off DeVito on the first play of the second quarter, giving the Irish the ball back at their own 16-yard line. After a first-down carry by Finke on a jet sweep, the Irish drive stalled after a Boykin drop on second down and an incompletion when Book was pressured on third down.

It looked like Gilman had come up with another turnover when he scooped up an apparent fumble by DeVito on a quarterback keeper, but after review, the fumble was overturned, and Syracuse retained possession at Notre Dame’s 44. Still, the Irish defense held strong, and Syracuse was forced to punt after a sack by Kurt Hinish on third down.

The Irish offense once again got moving on the ensuing drive, but once again were unable to cash in with a touchdown and this time, they came away with nothing. Four completions from Book – two to Boykin, one each to Claypool and Finke – covered 60 yards to set up 1st and goal at the 10. The Irish elected to go for it on 4th and goal from the one, but Book tripped during his drop, and his pass was picked off in the end zone after he lofted it up for grabs.

Gilman did convert another turnover on the next possession, popping a DeVito pass loose before picking it off and returning it 56 yards to the Syracuse nine-yard-line. Armstrong jogged in for the score one play later on a nifty trap play. Yoon’s extra point made it 20-0 five minutes before the half.
Neither team was able to muster much in the final minutes of the half.