Jeremiyah Love rushed for 171 yards and three touchdowns and No. 9 Notre Dame stormed to a 70-7 win over Syracuse on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Ind.
Jadarian Price finished with 70 rushing yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame (9-2), which won its ninth in a row. Kenny Minchey and Aneyas Williams each rushed for a touchdown as the Fighting Irish racked up 329 rushing yards.
Joseph Filardi completed 14 of 26 passes for 83 yards but threw three interceptions for Syracuse (3-8), which has lost seven straight. Luke Carney completed three of four passes for 12 yards in backup duty.
The Fighting Irish scored 70 points for the first time since 1932, when they beat Haskell 73-0.
Notre Dame wasted no time in asserting its dominance. The Fighting Irish scored five touchdowns in the first quarter and jumped to a 49-0 lead by the half.
Defense and special teams accounted for Notre Dame’s first three touchdowns.
On Syracuse’s opening drive, Jalen Stroman picked off Filardi and returned the interception 44 yards for a touchdown.
Less than two minutes later, Notre Dame’s Luke Talich scooped up a blocked punt and returned it 22 yards down the left sideline for a score.
Next came the Fighting Irish’s second pick-six of the first quarter. Leonard Moore intercepted a Filardi pass and returned it 46 yards for a score to make it 21-0.
Love and Price added one long rushing touchdown apiece to boost the score to 35-0 before the end of the first quarter. Love scored on a 45-yard run with 6:32 left and Price scored on a 58-yard sprint with 4:01 to go.
CJ Carr tossed his only touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. He connected with Will Pauling for a 6-yard score to make it 42-0.
Love added a 14-yard rushing score to give Notre Dame a 49-0 lead going into the half.
In the third quarter, Love added to his big day with a 68-yard touchdown run.
Williams and Minchey scored one rushing touchdown apiece in the fourth quarter to give Notre Dame a 70-0 lead.
Syracuse ended the shutout with seven seconds to go on Filardi’s 6-yard rushing score.
