Who leads the Irish heading into the final regular-season contest?
Notre Dame has its fate in its own hands for the College Football Playoff. All it needs to do is defeat USC, and a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium appears to be a certainty. Who would have thought the Irish would be in such a good position after the loss to Northern Illinois threatened to derail their season early?
The Irish can’t afford to get complacent though. The Trojans have not had a great season, but dealing the Irish a loss that could threaten their playoff chances would make up for everything that has gone wrong for them. That’s why the Irish will need to prepare for them like they would for any ranked team, and the talent they have should allow them to emerge victorious.
Here are the major statistical leaders the Irish are taking into their regular-season finale. Not all of them will be available, but they’re fun to see nonetheless:
Notre Dame defensive lineman Howard Cross III is dealing with a left ankle injury. Here are the latest updates.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
No. 8 Notre Dame defensive lineman [autotag]Howard Cross III[/autotag] has a left ankle injury and will miss Saturday’s game against the Virginia Cavaliers.
The Fighting Irish have used a stout defense to push their way towards the College Football Playoff, and Cross has been one of their best, if not their best, defensive linemen all season long. His loss will hurt, though it is not expected to be long-term.
Graduate running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] is also unavailable for today’s game.
Howard Cross injury update
Cross could return as soon as next week for the Irish’s tilt against No. 16 Army in New York.
“It’s not a long-term thing, but our doctors made the determination he’s going to be out this week,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Monday, according to the South Bend Tribune. “We hope to get him back the following week depending on how the rehab continues to happen.”
How long will Howard Cross be out?
Cross might miss just one game, but it’s hard to say for sure.
Notre Dame defensive linemen depth chart
[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] and [autotag]Donovan Hinish[/autotag]will be tasked with stepping up — Mills had a monster game last week against Florida State. [autotag]Armel Mukam[/autotag] and [autotag]Sean Sevillano[/autotag] are other depth options.
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After one quarter of play, it looked like Notre Dame football was going to run Louisville out of Notre Dame Stadium.
After running back [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] fumbled the opening kickoff and the Cardinals found the end zone, the Irish responded with three straight touchdown drives.
Running back [autotag]Jeremiah Love[/autotag] got it started with a 6-yard plunge, then quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] found wide receiver [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] for a 34-yard score. To cap off the flurry, Leonard ran one in from 4-yards away after Notre Dame recovered a botched snap on a punt.
Then the Irish’s offense went extremely quiet during the next two quarters, just a [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] 48-yard field goal, which kept the Cardinals in the game. Early in the fourth quarter, they cut Notre Dame’s lead to 24-17, but another response happened.
The Irish would march 75-yards on just 5-plays capped by a Love 32-yard touchdown reception from Leonard. The lead went back to two scores, which gave them a solid cushion.
Sep 28, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with wide receiver Jaden Greathouse (1) after a touchdown against the Louisville Cardinals in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
The Cardinals would come back and score a touchdown, to pull within a score once again. Notre Dame would need a big drive to seal the deal, but they couldn’t get it done. The defense saved the day as they made a final stop to end the game.
The Irish would win 31-24, improving to 4-1 on the year with a bye next week. They return to the field on October 12th to take on the Stanford Cardinal.
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The great thing about Notre Dame’s dominant win over Miami (Ohio) is that a few more players got a chance to shine. Consequently, we have a few new names popping up in our weekly statistical leaders listicle heading into the game against Louisville. That should force the Cardinals to be a little more aware of the players they’ll be going up against.
This goes without saying, but the Irish always can benefit from new players appearing in these categories. It highlights just how deep the team’s talent is, and anyone can step in at any point. It might take some players longer to crack the leaders lists than others, but that’s the beauty of a regular season that runs through the end of November.
So who are the players standing out the most going into the Irish’s last game before their first bye week? Take a look for yourself here:
Notre Dame’s home finale against Wake Forest is turning into a game in which some unlikely names are contributing. We already have seen touchdowns from [autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] and [autotag]Tobias Merriweather[/autotag]. Now, we have one from [autotag]Eli Raridon[/autotag], who didn’t really have any stats next to his name before this contest. That didn’t stop him from catching a 19-yard scoring pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]:
Raridon is a sophomore tight end and has a lot of time still to make his mark on the Irish. One touchdown won’t do a lot to move the needle, but he at least showed that he has the potential to move it even further. Hopefully, this is the first of many big plays he’ll make for the program over the next few years.
Once again, social media found itself in the position of reacting to a player most people weren’t think about before the game. Here are some of those reactions:
[autotag]Devyn Ford[/autotag] had yet to score for Notre Dame since transferring over from Penn State. Senior day was his last opportunity to get a touchdown at Notre Dame Stadium. He finally broke through on a 12-yard reception late in the first quarter to give the Irish a 7-0 lead over Wake Forest:
Entering the game against the Deacons, Ford had 36 yards from scrimmage in nine games with 22 of those yards coming on passes. So you would have to forgive any Irish fans who somehow forgot he existed. Waiting until the last home game of the season to get on the scoresheet is an easy way for you to slip through the cracks. Still, he has to be happy to have that monkey off his back at last.
Social media probably didn’t expect to tweet about Ford today, but here are some of the best tweets that were found regarding his touchdown:
Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the …
Having lost two of its past three, Notre Dame officially has little left to play for. Before it can enjoy its first of two bye weeks, it must first deal with yet another ranked undefeated in USC. This could get worse before it gets better. Alas, the Irish must carry on because the schedule dictates such.
Here’s who leads the major statistical categories for the Irish:
Notre Dame is getting ready to face another surging program, this time in Louisville. It probably would prefer to have an easier time than it did against Duke, which it barely escaped against. The road atmosphere the Cardinals fans will provide unlikely will be anymore forgiving though. That’s why the Irish must prepare for any and all possibilities.
Here are the statistical leaders for the Irish at the midway point of the season:
Who can get the Irish back on track after their heartbreaking loss?
Notre Dame doesn’t have time to think about what could have been against Ohio State. Its focus now must shift to a resurgent Duke team. Wins continue to be necessary because you never know what can happen over the next two months. The College Football Playoff might still remain in play.
Here are the Irish’s statistical leaders to watch for against the Blue Devils:
Notre Dame is preparing for a Saturday afternoon affair with Central Michigan as the Irish look to move to 4-0. Fresh off a 45-24 victory at North Carolina State on Saturday, Marcus Freeman announced that senior linebacker and captain JD Bertrand exited the game with a head injury.
Freeman met the media for his weekly press conference and updated the status of Bertrand as well as a few other players dealing with pains.
Will Bertrand be able to play Saturday? And what is the status of a few of the others recovering from injuries?
Here are the updates Marcus Freeman gave on a handful of players on Monday.
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