At halftime, Brian Kelly told his team to win the third quarter. Instead, we got maybe the sloppiest two-way quarter of any Notre Dame game this season. Nobody seemed to want to take control. Nevertheless, the Irish enter the final 15 minutes of the regular season leading Syracuse, 38-14.
The Irish recovered a fumble on the Orange’s first drive only to watch Ian Book cough the ball right back up. With his team given new life, Sean Tucker soon ran for a 40-yard touchdown. It was the perfect representative of an uncharacteristically rough day for the Irish’s run defense. That it’s happening against Syracuse of all teams is stunning.
When Book returned to the field, he threw only his second interception of the season to Ja’Had Carter. It didn’t matter because Rex Culpepper lost a fumble on the first play of the drive. Kyren Williams then put together some nice runs before Book called his own number and ran 17 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Some probably felt a serious sense of deja vu.
Any hopes that Syracuse’s play since late in the second quarter was an aberration were snuffed out when Daelin Hayes intercepted Culpepper for the Orange’s third turnover of the third quarter and fourth overall. The DJ at Notre Dame Stadium marked the occasion by playing My Own Worst Enemy by Lit. It was such a level of savagery that no one seemed to mind when Jonathan Doerer missed a 50-yard field-goal attempt.
After the defense forced a three-and-out, the offense immediately benefited from a roughing the passer call. Williams came closer to the 1,000-yard mark with a 23-yard run. Two plays later, Javon McKinley continued to make up for lost time by scoring his third touchdown of both the game and season on a 26-yard reception. All of the offensive leaders are chipping in.