Tag: notre dame fighting irish football

Watch: Tyree scores on 94-yard touchdown run for Notre Dame

True freshman running back Chris Tyree breaks off a huge run for Notre Dame, giving it another score and a bigger lead against Syracuse.

The Irish were trying to salt this game away, but true freshman running back Chris Tyree had other intentions. He took this handoff 94 yards to the house showcasing his track speed.

The huge run gave Notre Dame a 45-14 lead in the fourth quarter.

Watch: Javon McKinley for three, scores third touchdown of day for Notre Dame

Notre Dame wide receiver Javon McKinley scores for the third time today against Syracuse.

Itโ€™s safe to say Javon McKinleyโ€™s touchdown drought is over. For the third time today, Ian Book found McKinley in the endzone for a Notre Dame score.

Their third touchdown connection pushes Notre Dameโ€™s lead to 38-14 over visiting Syracuse.

Watch: Daelin Hayes grabs a pick for Notre Dame vs Syracuse

It’s senior day, so you knew some of the Notre Dame seniors would be making huge plays throughout their final home game against Syracuse. Well, defensive lineman Daelin Hayes made one of those huge plays picking off a pass. Happy Senior Day Daelin …

Itโ€™s senior day, so you knew some of the Notre Dame seniors would be making huge plays throughout their final home game against Syracuse. Well, defensive lineman Daelin Hayes made one of those huge plays picking off a pass.

Although the Irish didnโ€™t score on the ensuing drive, it still was a great play from the senior Hayes.

Tweet, tweet! The best Notre Dame tweets through halftime vs Syracuse

The best Notre Dame tweets from pre-game through halftime of their game against the Syracuse Orangemen.

Itโ€™s senior day, so there was plenty more that the Notre Dame social media staff was going to bring to the table. There were heartfelt messages to the seniors from the position coaches and the normal fantastic gameday content from all of the Irishโ€™s social media channels. Here are the best tweets from pre-game through halftime of their home game against Syracuse.

Watch: Liufau recovers fumble, Notre Dame cashes in on TD the next play

In the span of two plays, Notre Dame recovers a fumble and scores a touchdown to extend their lead over visiting Syracuse.

Notre Dameโ€™s defense helped out Notre Dameโ€™s offense, by causing a turnover in Syracuseโ€™s territory. Immediately after the review, upholding the ruling on the field, quarterback Ian Book found Javon McKinley for his first touchdown of the year. Check out this sequence that extends the Irish lead.

The score pushes the Irish lead to 17-7 over the Orangemen late in the first half.

Know your foe: Which Orangemen could cause Notre Dame problems today

A 1-9 team wonโ€™t scare many, but Syracuse still has a few playmakers on their side that could give Notre Dame problems today.

When you look over at Syracuse and see a 1-9 record, there not much fear that is going to be struck by anyone. That doesnโ€™t mean that Dino Babers team doesnโ€™t have playmakers on it. They certainly do, so letโ€™s take a look at a few Orangemen that could potentially give the Irish some issues today.

Kirk Herbstreit releases his latest top six college football rankings

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest top six rankings including Florida, Notre Dame, Clemson, and more.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit released his latest edition of College Football Playoff hopefuls following a quiet week of college football. Week 11 featured numerous cancelled/postponed games including: Georgia at Missouri, Ohio State versus Maryland, and LSU versus Alabama.

In notable college football action, Florida blew out Arkansas 63-35, Miami kept their slim hopes alive with a 25-24 comeback win over Virginia Tech, Notre Dame won handily at Boston College, and Wisconsin demolished Michigan 49-11.

The race for the CFP is coming down to the wire. The Big 12 is essentially eliminated from CFP contention, although Oklahoma State could win out and finish the season with one loss.ย  The Pac-12 needs either USC or Oregon to win out. Both programs need to look more impressive than they did in Week 11.

The SEC has only three teams with high hopes for making the playoff: Alabama, Florida, and Texas A&M. Texas A&M beat Florida, but trails Alabama by two games in the SEC West. The Aggies will hope to win out and that Alabama will defeat Florida in the SEC Championship. They’ll need more help than that. They’ll root for a two loss loser in the likely Notre Dame versus Clemson ACC Championship.

Ohio State is favored to represent the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff following the conference’s limited season. Wisconsin looks to be Ohio State’s biggest competition in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have a big game against Indiana this weekend.

How Kirk Herbstreit ranked the top teams in college football:

Overall, Herbstreit’s rankings look pretty solid. They haven’t changed at all since last week. BYU has been impressive, but its schedule has been very easy, so it would be fair to rank Texas A&M or Wisconsin over the BYU Cougars.

Aside from that, the rankings look good. Notre Dame deserves to be ranked over Ohio State due to its body of work. The Fighting Irish are 8-0 and Ohio State is only 3-0.

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Notre Dame up into top 2 in Amway Coaches Poll

Notre Dame moves up in the latest Amway Coaches Poll after upsetting former No. 1 Clemons in South Bend.

Notre Dame got their signature 2020 win last night, a double-overtime thriller against Clemson, where the Irish outlasted the Tigers 47-40. Yes, presumed No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence didnโ€™t play, but does that really matter at all?

No, Clemson has been a dominant force in college football without Lawrence and will continue after he moves onto the the NFL. What the Irish did last night was something no other ACC opponent can claim to do since 2017, beat the Tigers in a conference game.

This is a night many Irish fanโ€™s wont forget, we certainly wonโ€™t. They were rewarded for their effort in the latestย Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports by being ranked No. 2, two spots ahead of Clemson who they just defeated.

In other games in the ACC, No. 10 Miami, FL barely got by NC State, 44-41, Liberty beat another member of the conference on the road in Virginia Tech, and No. 24 North Carolina waxed Duke, 56-24.

Here is the full Amway Coaches poll, with ACC teams in bold and last weeks ranking in parenthesis.

1 Alabama (2)

2 Notre Dameย (4)

3 Ohio State (3)

4ย Clemson (1)

5 Florida (8)

6 Texas A&M (7)

7 Cincinnati (6)

8 BYU (9)

9ย Miami, FL (10)

10 Indiana (13)

11 Georgia (5)

12 Oregon (14)

13 Oklahoma St. (12)

14 Wisconsin (11)

15 Marshall (15)

16 Iowa St. (17)

17 Coastal Carolina (16)

18 Oklahoma (19)

19 SMU (18)

20 USC (20)

21 Auburn (21)

22 Liberty (NR)

23 Northwestern (NR)

24 Texas (NR)

25 Army (21)

Dropped out: No. 23 Boise St., No. 24ย UNC, No. 25 Michigan

Notre Dame up into top 2 in Amway Coaches Poll

Notre Dame moves up in the latest Amway Coaches Poll after upsetting former No. 1 Clemons in South Bend.

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Notre Dame got its signature 2020 win last night, a double-overtime thriller against Clemson in which the Irish outlasted the Tigers 47-40. Yes, presumed No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence didnโ€™t play, but does that really matter?

No, Clemson has been a dominant force in college football without Lawrence and will continue after he moves onto the the NFL. What the Irish did last night was something no other ACC opponent can claim to have done since 2017, beat the Tigers in a conference game.

This is a night many Irish fanโ€™s will not forget; we certainly wonโ€™t. The Irish were rewarded for their effort in the latest Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports by being ranked No. 2, two spots ahead of Clemson.

In other games in the ACC, No. 10 Miami barely got by NC State, 44-41, Liberty won on the road at Virginia Tech and No. 24 North Carolina waxed Duke, 56-24.

The full Amway Coaches poll, with ACC teams in bold and last weeks ranking in parenthesis:

1. Alabama (2)

2. Notre Dameย (4)

3. Ohio State (3)

4. Clemson (1)

5. Florida (8)

6. Texas A&M (7)

7. Cincinnati (6)

8. BYU (9)

9. Miami, FL (10)

10. Indiana (13)

11. Georgia (5)

12. Oregon (14)

13. Oklahoma St. (12)

14. Wisconsin (11)

15. Marshall (15)

16. Iowa St. (17)

17. Coastal Carolina (16)

18. Oklahoma (19)

19. SMU (18)

20. USC (20)

21. Auburn (21)

22. Liberty (NR)

23. Northwestern (NR)

24. Texas (NR)

25. Army (21)

Dropped out: No. 23 Boise St., No. 24ย UNC, No. 25 Michigan

Another day, another doubter for Notre Dame, this time over at Rivals

More shade for Notre Dame, this time from Mike Farrell at Rivals, saying the Irish arenโ€™t contenders for the College Football Playoffs.

The fallout from a very lackluster win against Louisville continues, this time over at Rivals. We looked at Kirk Herbstreitโ€™s comments about the Irish yesterday, and today itโ€™s Mike Farrellโ€™s turn.

In his Three-Point Stance article, he looked at a variety of questions surrounding the college football season right now. One of those was Notre Dameโ€™s validity of making the College Football Playoffs. In short, itโ€™s not good.

The recruiting director doesnโ€™t see the Irish as serious contenders for a CFP spot. โ€œIf this Notre Dame team falls behind by a couple of scores, it is done. The Fighting Irish donโ€™t have the offense to come back as the passing game is bad.โ€

The passing game Farrell is talking about hasnโ€™t obviously been great. The Irish are middle-of-the-pack as far as a scoring offense, putting up 33 points per game. ย Even with the blah outing against Louisville, the offense is still gaining 440 yards a game.

Yes, the offense needs work, but putting a fork in Brian Kellyโ€™s group and declaring them done is way too premature. The defense has led the 2020 group, giving the offense an opportunity to catch-up. The whole narrative can change in a week, as we have seen.

This weeks matchup against Pittsburgh has just that much more juice to it. The Irish donโ€™t need anymore locker room material to get fired up, but Farrell provided them with more.

Remember, there are many factors as to why the offense has struggled out of the gate this year. Breaking in a new starter at every offensive skill position wasnโ€™t going to be easy. Tommy Reesโ€™ has to settle in to becoming the guy calling the plays.

It was never going to be a smooth ride offensively for the Irish this year. There was bound to be some bumps along the way, but the schedule gods have given them plenty of time to get it right, but that time is running out.

Including this week, the offense will have two more games to get things right before big, bad Clemson comes to town. Hopefully by November 7th, the Irish offense is humming and can match what the defense has brought so far this season.

(Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)