Irish Breakdown

Social Media Reacts to Jeremiyah Love Winning Doak Walker Award

Jeremiyah Love was named the most outstanding running back in college football after winning the Doak Walker Award on Friday.
Jared Shlensky|
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in South Bend.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball into the end zone for a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Syracuse at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Notre Dame fans certainly have a right to still be salty about the Irish not making the College Football Playoff, but hopefully this will cheer them up a little bit. Running back Jeremiyah Love was named the 2025 Doak Walker Award Winner, given to the most outstanding running back in college football.

It's not all that surprising that Love won. Let's be honest, he was hands down the best running back in college football this year.

Love Is the First Notre Dame Running Back to Win the Doak Walker Award

This even surprised me. Considering all the great running backs ND has produced -- Jerome Bettis, Autry Denson, Ricky Waters, Allen Pinkett, etc. -- none won the Doak Walker Award. But Love did.


If that doesn't put into perspective how good Love is, I don't know what does. This young man is one of a kind, and he's got the stats and highlights to back it up. To top it off, Pro Football Focus rated him as the best running back in all of college football.

Speaking of stats, here's Love's numbers over the last two seasons -- 2,882 rushing yards, 6.7 yards per carry, 36 rushing touchdowns. And if you include his receiving numbers, Love nearly put up 3,500 yards over the last two years -- 3,476 -- and scored 42 total touchdowns.

Love's Best Plays

You decide which of these highlights was Love's best, but you may have a hard time deciding because there are just so many. Personally, I like Love's touchdown run against Navy the most.

Somehow, some way, Love's knee or elbow never hit the ground, and he took it to the house when everyone else thought he was down. Just pure beauty.

Jerome Bettis Congratulates Love

Of all the people to congratulate Love, you've got to think getting a shout out from Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis means the most. After all, Bettis, aka, "the bus", arguably had the best NFL career of any ND running back.

The best part about Bettis congratulating Love was that he wasn't bitter whatsoever about Love breaking his records. Some guys are salty about that, but fortunately, Bettis wasn't. In fact, he even acknowledged him for breaking his records. Pure class by Bettis.

Is the Heisman Next?

Love was named one of four finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday, and while Love is more than deserving of the honor, my guess is Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza takes home the honors.

It's hard to believe Tim Brown was the last ND player to win the Heisman back in 1987, but don't be surprised if that drought continues when it's all said and done. Derrick Henry was the last running back to win the Heisman in 2015, and before that, it was Mark Ingram in 2009. Running backs just don't win the Heisman like they used to, which is why I see Love finishing as the runner-up behind Mendoza.

Could Love Return For His Senior Season?

I'm still not convinced Love will be back in South Bend for another year, but Marcus Freeman made it clear he's going to try. And Love even says "we" when referring to next season, which makes me think he's not 100% sold on turning pro.

Love still has plenty of time before he needs to declare for the Draft, but in case he does, do yourself a favor and take the time to appreciate how great he was during his ND career. ND may never have a player like Love again.

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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster

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