Notre Dame Players of the Game vs Oregon State

Notre Dame (10-3) capped off the 2023 season with a convincing 40-8 victory over Oregon State in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl. The Fighting Irish controlled action from start to finish in the game, and there were standouts in all phases. There were four players, however, who stood above the rest, which earned them player of the game honors from Irish Breakdown.

OFFENSE - Jordan Faison, Wide Receiver - Jadarian Price, Running Back

Faison Stats: 5 catches, 115 yards, 23.0 YPC, 1 TD
Price Stats: 13 carries, 106 yards, 8.2 YPC, 1 TD
Runners Up: QB Steve Angeli, WR Jayden Thomas

I just couldn't decide between Faison and Price, so I'm giving them both the honor here. Their performances were instrumental in Notre Dame building up an early lead, and also putting Oregon State away in the second half.

Faison got things started for the Irish, getting free deep on the fourth play of the game for a 55-yard gain. He made another spectacular catch for a 33-yard gain, and his route running was in top form on the ensuing drive, getting open for a 13-yard touchdown that really broke the game open. It was an outstanding all around performance for the freshman, who set career highs with five catches and 115 receiving yards.

Price formed a strong early 1-2 punch with Jeremiyah Love, but as the game wore on it was the sophomore from Texas who took things over. Price ran with authority throughout the game, and on multiple carries he was just one player away from ripping off a bigger run. His best early run was a 13-yard gain on a bounced Duo run in which he had to make two defenders miss before using his speed to get outside. His broke the century mark in the fourth quarter, which put him over 100 yards for the first time in his career.

Price also had the team's second touchdown late in the second quarter.

DEFENSE - Jordan Botelho, Defensive End

Stats: 5 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1 sack
Runners Up: DT Rylie Mills, DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste, LB JD Bertrand, CB Benjamin Morrison, S Xavier Watts

I could have easily named four or five different defenders as the player of the game, but Botelho's production puts him over the top. His pass rush early on wasn't as impactful as the rest of the line, but Botelho showed a much better push in the second half as he got multiple hits on the quarterback.

What Botelho did well early was play the run. He was effective setting the edge, his pursuit game was strong and he made a lot of plays on the ball, tying for the team lead with five tackles and topping the defense with 1.5 tackles for loss.

It was a rough season for Botelho, but he capped the year off with a strong performance. Hopefully his strong all-around performance is something he can build on heading into his final season.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Josh Burnham, Defensive End

Stats: 2 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss

Burnham was quite good on defense in the Irish win, but he made one of the biggest plays of the game on special teams. Notre Dame thoroughly outplayed the Beavers in the first half, but with less than four minutes left in the half the Irish led just 7-0. Oregon State decided to run a fake punt late in the second quarter, but Burnham read it perfectly and blew the play up for a 5-yard loss.

Notre Dame took over at the Oregon State 44-yard line with 3:29 left in the half. Price took control of the drive and punched the ball into the end zone with just 27 seconds in the half, but it was the big stop by Burnham that set that up. Instead of it being a 7-0 game going into halftime, the Irish quickly went up 14-0 and would start the second half with the football.

It was a huge, huge play by Burnham.

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Irish Breakdown Content

2024 Scholarship Chart
2023 Football Schedule

Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

2024 Commit Rankings - Offense
2024 Commit Rankings - Defense

2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Offense
2024 Recruiting Class Grades - Defense

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