Notre Dame Beats Syracuse, Finishes Season Undefeated
It wasn't always pretty, but Notre Dame did what it needed to do to against Syracuse (1-10) to finish the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record. Notre Dame scuffled early but pulled away with a late second quarter surge, which fueled a 45-21 victory.
The sloppiness started immediately, as Notre Dame had to settle for a field goal on its opening drive thanks to quarterback Ian Book missing an open Kyren Williams in the end zone and an under-thrown Book pass being dropped by wide receiver Javon McKinley.
Syracuse got into Notre Dame territory on each of its first three drives, and after punting on the first two possessions the Orange converted a trio of third-downs to get into the end zone to take a 7-3 lead.
Notre Dame turned it over on downs on its next possession and was set to punt again after a three-and-out, but a Syracuse personal foul gave the Irish new life. Three plays later, Book took off for a 28-yard scramble touchdown to put the Irish ahead.
Defensive tackle Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa forced a fumble that sophomore linebacker Marist Liufau recovered. On the very next play, Book threw a short pass to McKinley that the veteran wideout turned into a 21-yard after-the-catch touchdown to make it a 17-3 game.
The defense forced a quick three and out with just under a minute left, and the offense responded with a 28-yard catch and throw from Book to McKinley.
Within just 3:20 the Irish went from down 7-3 to up 24-7 going into halftime.
Clark Lea's defense got right back to work in the second half, forcing a quick fumble that was recovered by Tagovailoa-Amosa. The Irish offense, however, gave it right back on the next play as a muffed snap set Syracuse up for a short touchdown drive.
Book followed that up with an interception on a wildly underthrown ball, but the Irish defense got it right back on the next play, as end Adetokunbo Ogundeji forced a fumble that was recovered by Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah.
The offense finally got rolling in the second half, as Book again scrambled for a touchdown, this time from 17 yards out.
Veteran end Daelin Hayes dropped underneath a Rex Culpepper pass for an interception, and the third forced turnover of the second half.
Book and McKinley hooked up again for a 26-yard touchdown as the Irish wideout beat the Syracuse corner off the line for the score. That touchdown eliminated any doubt about the outcome.
McKinley hauled in three touchdowns in the game, and those scores were his first three of the season.
Book's numbers look good (285 passing yards, 53 rushing yards, five touchdowns) but it was an overall sloppy performance. Notre Dame was aided by Syracuse extending two drives with penalties.
Sloppiness aside, Book did made four of five clutch plays (runs and throws) that allowed the Irish to pull away and send the Orange to another defeat.
McKinley finished the game with 111 receiving yards to go with career-highs of seven catches for three touchdowns.
The Irish rush defense was disappointing. The unit came in ranked among the nation's best, holding its opponents to just 85.3 yards per game. Syracuse rushed for 210 yards, and freshman running back Sean Tucker went for 113 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown run.
Both teams had a pair of 100-yard rusher. Williams (110 yards) and Chris Tyree (109 yards) for Notre Dame, and Tucker (113 yards) and Cooper Lutz (102 yards) for the Orange.
Freshman cornerback Clarence Lewis led the defense with 12 tackles, partly because of how many passes were caught against him in the game. Owusu-Koramoah finished with five tackles, a stop behind the line, two pass break ups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Notre Dame out-gained Syracuse 568-414.
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