In any game, there are plays that don’t lead directly to big plays but still make a huge impact on the game itself.
Here are those plays in Notre Dame’s road upset victory against Syracuse
that propels the Irish to a 5-3 record and one step closer to bowl eligibility.
First quarter, 9:20 left on the clock The Irish finally get the ball for their first offensive series and it’s a heavy dose of runs.
Three consecutive carries led to Drew Pyne’s first throwing attempt and it was a good one
Notre Dame would move down the field and although they didn’t score, it was good to see Pyne get into an early rhythm.
After a Sean Tucker run for 9 yards, Syracuse tries to get cute and surprise the Irish win a reverse.
The Notre Dame defense is not fooled as linebacker Jack Kiser ultimately
ends up making the tackle with a few of his friends around the ball as well.
It sets up a 3rd-and-7 which the Orange wouldn’t convert leading to a second straight three-and-out the
After Drew Pyne severely missed Michael Mayer and Syracuse picked off the pass,
the Irish defense needed to step up and that’s exactly what they did. On third down with 10 yards to go,
Syracuse opted for a run, gaining just 3 yards.
They decided to go for it instead of a long field goal and linebacker JD Bertrand kept with the play,
held up a scrambling Garrett Shrader and tipped his pass leading to an incompletion.
The Irish then went into their two-minute offense and put another touchdown
In any game, there are plays that don’t lead directly to big plays but still make a huge impact on the game itself.