I was fooled at the start of the year as I thought Notre Dame’s defensive line was nearly as good as any in the nation. What I know two weeks in is that it may have sky-high potential but that a (very good but still a) Sun Belt team walked into Notre Dame Stadium and pushed the Fighting Irish defensive front around on Saturday. If that’s a sign of things to come then Notre Dame is going to be in even more trouble as the calendar turns to fall and the wins don’t stack quite like they were expected to.
The running back responsible for thundering through the Notre Dame defense on Saturday was named the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week. The following is courtesy of the Doak Walker Award:
DALLAS (SMU) – Marshall running back Khalan Laborn ran for 163 yards and a touchdown in the Thundering Herd’s 26-21 upset of Notre Dame in South Bend to earn the Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Sept. 10.
Laborn, a 5-11, 212-pound sixth-year senior transfer from Virginia Beach, Va., averaged 5.3 yards on 31 carries to post his second consecutive 100-yard game (102 vs. Norfolk State last week). His 42-yard run as part of a 94-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter set up the Herd to retake the lead at 19-15 and the defense all but sealed the upset when Steven Gilmore returned an interception for a touchdown on Notre Dame’s ensuing possession.
After transferring from Florida State and enrolling at Marshall this past spring, Laborn has started for both games this season filling in for the absence of Rasheen Ali, who was named to the preseason candidates list for the 2022 Doak Walker Award.
“In house – no disrespect to Notre Dame – we expected it because we talked about this summer, this team being expected to win,” Marshall head coach Charles Huff said after the game. Marshall, new to the Sun Belt Conference in 2022, was the first Sun Belt team to visit Notre Dame.
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