Notre Dame overcame a season-high five turnovers to remain undefeated with a 31-15 victory over Syracuse. The Irish were sloppy with the football, which they will need to clean up immediately with Stanford on the horizon, but the team responded well remaining in control throughout despite the turnovers. Brian Kelly and his staff came up with an excellent game plan utilizing screens and passes to the flats to breakdown Syracuse’s blitz and open up the field, which resulted in a record setting 25 straight completions by Everett Golson. The following players stood out in the Irish victory:
Will Fuller: Sophomore Will Fuller continues to fill the void left by DaVaris Daniels in the pass game. The Pennsylvania native did an excellent job of blocking on the edge, which was critical to the execution of the Irish game plan. Fuller also continued to show his abilities as a deep threat catching a 72 yard touchdown pass. Fuller tallied six receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the victory.
Corey Robinson: The son of the admiral played a very strong game versus the Orange and showed his versatility. Robinson showed he can be just as effective on bubble screens as he is utilizing his size in one on one matchups both deep downfield and in the red zone. The Texas native had a team-high eight receptions totalling 91 yards and a touchdown.
Jaylon Smith: Standout linebacker Jaylon Smith performed as usual in the victory over Syracuse. Smith did an excellent job of containing Terrel Hunt and making him a pocket passer. The defense also stood up well after the frequent turnovers by the Irish offense, which Smith was a big part of as he recorded a team-high nine tackles.
Matthias Farley: Defensive Back Matthias Farley played yet another solid game in what has been a bounce back year for him. Farley has moved around playing a variety of roles in the secondary but has consistently made plays in crucial situations. The North Carolina native intercepted Terrel Hunt on the Orange’s first drive of the second half when Syracuse were in Irish territory while the game was still very much up for grabs. Farley also recorded five tackles in the victory.
How about EG helping win the game? I don’t understand why EG prevailing despite a poor night isn’t given much consideration. That was HUGE for him to be able to do that.
So we are exceeding offensive expectations by scoring 30 plus against these first four defenses? And we haven’t been able to run the ball at will. Ok.
It’s gonna take much more than stopping their run game to win. We will find out how good we are after sat.
With the talent we have on offense we should be scoring 30+ per game against the level of competition weve faced so far. We will find out how good ND is during the month of October. Sure hope the frozen five get reinstated.
Defense much better than expected. Offense exceeding expectations as they have scored 30 plus in every game. Soft part of schedule over so now what? We won’t beat many of the teams remaining if we turn the ball over 5 times. I pray that EG had half his season of turnovers in that game!
If The Cardinal can’t run agaist us we win.
Go IRISH!!
I probably deserved that, Burgundy. But hey – at 4-0 – at least we are all running.
3 things:
Most bemoaned that we didn’t have a “go-to” receiver once Daniels went out.
No Michael Floyd, an every down threat, short, intermediate and long. But defensive coordinators could build a game plan around slowing Floyd down.
With this Irish WR bunch there is ordnance all over the field. You can have Will Fuller not even being targeted for the first half, then
strike long when the defense has been lulled to sleep or chasing
Brown, Prosise, Robinson and now Hunter. This is different, but might be better.
Second, I am astounded by Robinson’s progress. He was a one-trick pony last year (and was helpful drawing the contact against MSU). But he is an astute runner after he catches the ball. Isn’t it interesting that last year we talked about David Robinson’s son and this year we enjoy Corey Robinson, with the shot of the dad just an afterthought?
Third, JDH, who you calling tool??????????????
Swiss Army Knife, very nice…………….
I love the way Robinson is developing. And I am equally pleased that BK saw something in Robinson that many other schools didn’t. This is the most talent (collectively) that I have seen at the WR position in years. And that talent, from Fuller to Hunter to Robinson, etc., is YOUNG. And remember, somebody correct me if I am wrong, but all these young studs were “high 3” or “low 4” star rated kids coming out of high school. So they looked “good” but they weren’t Rivals or 247 jaw-droppers. That tells me that BK and company is doing a very good job at recognizing real talent and/or fully developing that talent once it arrives in South Bend.
Totally agreed. We get Carlisle back this week and IF we get Davaris Daniels back…WOW.
If the O-line continues to improve and we limit turnovers, there is nothing to hold this Irish team back this year or next.
We are a Leatherman tool.
I just ran around the Oval Office Barry.
I agree…every long pass completion on the night for Syracuse had excellent coverage. I am very impressed with the secondary.
Did you notice on Syracuse’s first play when they completed that long pass that Jaylon smith was step for step with the receiver? He just didn’t make a play on the ball and it was a perfect pass.