SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football has never opened a first quarter more prolifically than it did Saturday on Senior Day against Syracuse.
Racing to a 35-0 lead after just 11 minutes, the Irish tied a program record for highest-scoring opening quarter. Knute Rockne’s 1921 Irish also put 35 on Kalamazoo College in the opening quarter of the season en route to a 56-0 win.
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The school record for points in any quarter is 47 in a 102-0 win over Rose Poly in 1914.
Since Notre Dame Stadium opened in 1930, the Irish scoring record is a 73-0 win over Haskell in 1932.
Jeremiyah Love was tackled at the Orange’s 1-yard-line on the final play of Saturday’s opening period. Fans murmured their disapproval, but the Irish changed ends of the field before adding to their overwhelming lead.
Syracuse ran 14 plays from scrimmage and trailed 21-0 before the Irish offense had a chance to run a play.
Safety Jalen Stroman opened the scoring with a 44-yard interception return of freshman quarterback Joseph Filardi. The Irish led 7-0 just 57 seconds into the game.
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Luke Talich returned a punt 28 yards at the 12:19 mark to make it 14-0. Stroman, subbing for the injured Tae Johnson, deflected the punt.
Next it was cornerback Leonard Moore taking back an interception 46 yards for the third score of the game. Notre Dame led 21-0 at the 9:43 mark.
Love went 45 yards off tackle on Notre Dame’s second offensive play to make it 28-0 at the 6:32 mark.
After the third Syracuse punt of the quarter, Jadarian Price capped a three-play scoring drive with a 58-yard run up the middle.
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Despite possession the ball for just 88 seconds, the Irish had 35 points against the 3-7 visitors.
Since the advent of freshman eligibility in 1973, Notre Dame scored 28 first-quarter points in a 2017 win over Miami (Ohio) and a 1973 win over Air Force.
It also pinned 40 on Pittsburgh in the second quarter in 1996.
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football first quarter scoring record vs Syracuse
