Notre Dame runs through No. 16 Syracuse: Instant Takeaways

Notre Dame went on the road Saturday and made just its second trek to Syracuse’s JMA Wireless Dome in program history

 and entered as a slight underdog.  Things began going the way of the Irish immediately

as Brandon Joseph returned an interception for a touchdown on the first play of the game.

Of course, it wasn’t as simple as that as Syracuse marched right down the field to tie things up

and despite owning the box score most of the afternoon, Notre Dame took its sweet time in putting the Orange away for good.

It was a big step in the right direction for a Notre Dame squad that has been frustrating

 and inconsistent much of the year.  Here are five instant takeaways from the 41-24 victory.

Have you ever played Madden and just ran HB Dive out of different formations for 6-8 yards seemingly every carry?  

That’s what it felt like Notre Dame was doing at times Saturday as they totaled a hair shy of 250 rushing yards

 on the day while pounding the ball 56 times.  It might not be flashy or sexy by modern college football

offensive guidelines but it was impactful and in fact, should have been done even more.

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Let’s get wild, week 9: Statistical predictions for Notre Dame vs Syracuse