SOUTH BEND ― That one was easy.
That one was fun – for a while.
That one was quick. Like, 57 seconds and two offensive plays into the game quick. That’s how long it took before No. 9 Notre Dame football was in the end zone at home on Senior Day against overmatched Syracuse.
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The Irish were there early and often and all day long.
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It was downhill from the start for the overwhelmed Orange, and all fun and games and yards and scores the rest of the way for an Irish team now winners of nine straight with designs of another College Football Playoff appearance following a 70-7 victory.
This too was an embarrassment for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Instead of worrying about why Notre Dame (9-2) is ranked above Miami (Fla.) in the College Football Playoff rankings, it should concern itself with getting its football house in order. Whatever that was, it wasn’t high-level Division I football. It was a Division I football disaster.
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That wasn’t the case of a buy game and bringing a lesser-league opponent to town. A buy game opponent may have offered more of a fight against the Irish. No, the Irish didn’t drop just a hammer on the Orange. They dropped the whole freakin’ house ― before half.
This one eventually became unwatchable. By the time the first quarter was over, Notre Dame was on track for 140 points. The 35 points in the first quarter tied the school record.
The most drama on this day? Would USC do a solid for Notre Dame and beat Oregon, which would boost the Irish post-season part plans?
Syracuse had no chance, even with a 37-yard kickoff return to start. Boubacar Traore then pounced on ball-carrier Will Nixon for a two-yard loss before Jalen Stroman, barely 15 minutes removed from being honored as one of 32 seniors, stepped in front of a Joseph Filardi pass and raced 44 yards into the south end zone.
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Other Irish success this weekend: What did this one November game mean for No. 23 Notre Dame women’s basketball?
It was all over for the Orange and all on for the Irish, now winners by double digits in each of the last nine games. That will be 10-for-10 soon enough when Notre Dame visits Stanford to wrap the regular season. Expect the Irish to be just as spicy for that one as they were for Syracuse, especially after the ACC handed them a 10:30 p.m. Eastern time kick in NorCal.
Start a redshirt freshman walk-on quarterback who was brought to Central New York more for lacrosse than football, and you’re going to be in for a long day. It was long only two drives in for the Orange. They weren’t going anywhere, not against that defense.
With (-2) yards on its first five plays, Syracuse was indeed living on a prayer, and not just because Jon Bon Jovi was in the house.
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And Stroman wasn’t done. Getting one pick six to start wasn’t enough. On the second Orange possession, Stroman deflected a punt, Luke Talich snatched it from the sky ― so it was a return, not a block – and ran it back 22 yards. It was 14-0 not even three minutes in. Fourteen points, and CJ Carr had yet to take a shotgun snap.
Make that 21-0 after a Leonard Moore pick six barely five minutes in. By then, this one was just silly. By the time the Irish offense finally ran a play from scrimmage, more than half the first quarter had been played and the sun had slipped behind a bed of clouds.
Two plays into the offense’s day, Jeremiyah Love was in the end zone with a 45-yard score.
Someone in the press box said that if this were a fight, they would have stopped it. Not entirely true. They would have never started it. This one was that lopsided.
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Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame football dismantles Syracuse. Takeaways, analysis
