Tag: Jack Soble

Social media reacts to Jadarian Price’s touchdown before halftime

That’s how you extend a lead.

After Notre Dame’s first touchdown, the offense hit a bit of a snag. It seemed like 7-0 would stay the score at halftime of the Sun Bowl. But never say never because things have a way of working out.

Oregon State tried a fake punt on fourth down near midfield late in the second quarter, but the Irish’s defense quickly snuffed that out:

Irish fans eagerly awaited to see what their team would do starting at the Beavers’ 44-yard line. The answer was a few plays with solid gains and [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] ultimately scoring a 1-yard touchdown to extend the Irish’s lead to 14-0:

Say what you will about the Irish not having every key 2023 player available, but [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] and the rest of the offense have held their own so far. While it wasn’t a perfect first-half performance, it was good enough, and that was all they could ask for.

Here’s how social media reacted to Price’s score:

Social media reacts to Jayden Thomas’ touchdown on Irish’s first drive

Nice start.

Notre Dame is off and running in the Sun Bowl. After the defense forced Oregon State to punt on the game’s opening drive, the offense took over at the 4-yard line. While the Irish mostly ran the ball, [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] completed a 55-yard pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] and also a pass for 8 yards to [autotag]Jayden Thomas[/autotag]. The latter of those passes was good for a touchdown and an early 7-0 Irish lead:

 

The Irish has shown early that they’re ready to play in spite of missing so many familiar names from this season, especially on offense. While there obviously is a lot of game to go, you can’t discount how good both sides have looked so far. Even if things somehow flip the Beavers’ way, the Irish at least can take this part of the first quarter with them.

Here are some of the best reactions to Thomas’ score on social media:

 

Social media reacts to Jean-Baptiste scoring off blocked field goal

Holy moly.

Notre Dame didn’t start off well against Stanford, but that changed as the game progressed. By the fourth quarter, all that was left was to take whatever was left of the Cardinal’s soul. What was the best way to do that? How about [autotag]Jason Onye[/autotag] blocking a field-goal attempt and [autotag]Javontae Jean-Baptiste[/autotag] returning the ball 60 yards to the house?

Jean-Baptiste is 6-foot-4, 260 pounds. That’s all you need to know about the improbability of this play. There surely are many moments Jean-Baptiste will remember when his Irish career is over, but this one has to be near if not at the top of the list. One simply has to love when a defensive lineman gets a moment to shine with the ball.

As one might have guessed, social media was ablaze with this moment. You don’t see this happen every football game, so it deserves to be celebrated once it’s seen:

 

Social media reacts to Gi’Bran Payne fumble-turned-touchdown

Yes, this was a score.

Notre Dame needed to show before halftime that it had no intention of letting Stanford do whatever it wanted. It looked for a moment that the Irish would fall short in that mission as [autotag]Gi’Bran Payne[/autotag] appeared to lose a fumble at the goal line after a 3-yard run.

As the Cardinal celebrated their apparent fourth turnover of the first half, replays showed that Payne might have broken the plane before he lost the ball. The officials reviewed it, and it turned out Payne did indeed score before losing the ball:

It might not have been the cleanest touchdown of the season, but it gave the Irish a 28-16 halftime lead. That will make it more challenging for the Cardinal to pull off the upset despite them showing that they won’t go away without a fight. That’s good news for Irish fans, including those who took to social media afterwards to celebrate the final touchdown of the half:

Social media reacts to Jaden Greathouse’s 52-yard touchdown reception

That’s a long tuddy.

The fourth quarter for Notre Dame against Wake Forest merely is a formality. That’s not stopping the Irish from pouring it on though. This is the third game this season in which [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] has thrown for four touchdown passes. His latest one was to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], who made a nice catch and completed the 48-yard trek to the end zone:

Perhaps the most impressive thing about this performance is that every Irish touchdown has been scored by a different player. Some of them will be back next year, but those players are making sure the departing players have something to remember other than being honored before the game. A blowout win is a nice memory to add to what surely is an emotional day for these players:

Even with the game already decided, Greathouse’s catch generated plenty of reaction on social media, and here are some of those reactions:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame’s Audric Estime’s rushing touchdown

Is this his Notre Dame Stadium swan song?

It took until the second half, but Notre Dame finally is treating Wake Forest like the inferior opponent it is. The game has been opened up, and the Irish appear they will have a successful senior day. Helping make that possible is this 2-yard touchdown run by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag], who was set up nicely by a Deacons penalty and a couple of big completions by [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]:

Although not a senior, Estime is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft, and it would be a shock if didn’t enter it. He’s proven beyond a doubt this season that he’s ready for the next level, although the decision about whether to jump early is up to him. If this is his final game at Notre Dame Stadium, he at least has given the venue one last thing to remember him by.

Here are some of the more notable reactions on social media to Estime’s score:

Social media reacts to Eli Raridon scoring touchdown for Notre Dame

Nice job, young man.

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:

Social media reacts to Devyn Ford scoring Notre Dame’s first touchdown

There you go, Devyn.

[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:

Social media reacts to three Notre Dame touchdowns off interceptions

This is a rather pleasant development.

Notre Dame knew it would have to stop Caleb Williams to have a chance against USC. Williams had thrown two interceptions in a game only once during his collegiate career.

That changed in only the first half as [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] picked up two of Williams’ passes and [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] one. All three picks led to touchdowns, the last two of which were scored by [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag]:

Obviously, the Irish can’t afford to take the pressure off Williams. If there’s anyone who can lead his team back from a 24-6 halftime deficit, it’s him. But for now, the Irish have to be very pleased with the mistakes they’ve forced from the reigning Heisman Trophy winner.

Joining in the merriment are Irish fans on social media. This is the moment where happiness needs to be expressed, and they’ve done a good job of that. Here are some of the best tweets we were able to find:

Social media reacts to Notre Dame touchdown after early interception

That was pleasant.

Notre Dame needed to come out strong against USC. The Trojans took the ball first, and it looked like the first possession might not go so well for the Irish when Caleb Williams completed a third-down pass to extend that possession.

But [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] immediately said enough was enough and picked Williams off. He returned the interception 38 yards to set the Irish’s offense up in the red zone:

Three plays later, [autotag]Gi’Bran Payne[/autotag] received a short pass from [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag] and found enough room to get to the end zone and put the Irish up, 7-0:

Obviously, there’s a long way to go in this game. Still, the fact the Irish have let the Trojans know that they aren’t just going to roll over them is a thrill. We’ll see how long they can claim to have the upper hand. For now though, let’s see how social media reacted to this game’s early success: