If the Yankees can’t find enough starting pitching this offseason, they should consider the Notre Dame defense. The Irish nearly pitched a shutout Saturday afternoon, spearheaded a near-flawless performance in what was supposed to be their final hurdle before the College Football Playoff.
Living up to its No. 3 ranking, Notre Dame was dominant on both sides of the ball and rode the accurate right arm of Ian Book to a 36-3 flogging of 12th-ranked Syracuse in front of a sellout crowd of 48,104 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
“If they play the way that they played [against] us, they’re probably going to have an opportunity to play for a national championship,” Syracuse coach Dino Babers said.
“That’s a great statement win for us,” Notre Dame cornerback Julian Love said.
The showdown never came close to living up to the hype, in part due to Syracuse quarterback Eric Dungey leaving the game in the first quarter with what looked like a back injury. Instead, the biggest college football game in decades to come to New York City felt like a regular Sunday afternoon around here. Syracuse was as competitive as the dismal Jets or disappointing Giants.
Notre Dame played the part of the out-of-town dynamo that beats up on the weak local team. It moved to within one win — next Saturday at reeling USC — from an almost certain invite to its first trip to the playoff after defeating a ranked opponent for the fourth time this season. Coach Brian Kelly’s team improved to 11-0 for the first time since 2012, the last time it played for a national championship. This group seems more equipped than that one, which was destroyed by Alabama in the title game.
“Just to be in this situation we are, it’s special. We worked so hard,” Book said. “I just know our guys are just ready for one more week, to accomplish a goal we’ve worked for since the day after the [Citrus Bowl last year].”
Kelly wasn’t interesting in comparing Notre Dame to national championship favorites Alabama and Clemson. He’s happy his team is soaring in November after collapsing a year ago at this time.
“We’re playing really well, especially on defense,” he said.
Book, who replaced Brandon Wimbush under center in Week 3, has given Notre Dame’s offense much-needed balance to match an elite defense. After missing last Saturday’s rout of Florida State with a rib injury, the junior looked like himself, completing 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. The nation’s leader in completion percentage, he made quick decisions, delivered accurate throws and sliced apart a soft Syracuse secondary with precision.
Kelly joked that the only time he’s seen Book rattled was his freshman year when he was 10 pounds short of making weight. He hid a 10-pound weight in his shorts that was found.
“That’s the only time I saw him get rattled,” the Notre Dame coach said with a smirk. “On the football field, I haven’t seen him get rattled.”
Book wasn’t needed at his best on Saturday. The Irish defense shut down Syracuse’s fourth-ranked scoring offense that entered the supposed showdown averaging 44.4 points per game, allowing just 115 yards through the air. Midway through the first quarter, Dungey went down with what looked like a back injury, and his replacement, Tommy DeVito, was overwhelmed, sacked six times and picked off twice, continuing a lost few days for Syracuse. Its 15th-ranked basketball team went 0-2 in the 2K Classic Thursday and Friday at the Garden.
“I don’t know if it was that big of a blow,” Babers said of Dungey going down. “The thing that I saw were a lot of mistakes that were going on.”
Safety Alohi Gilman earned a game-ball for his two-interception, eight-tackle day. He delivered the play of the game, drilling receiver Taj Harris on a well-thrown pass, then grabbing the ball as it popped free and returning it 54 yards. Jafar Armstrong scored from nine yards out on the following play to make it 20-0 late in the second quarter. The result was never in doubt from there, especially with Dungey sidelined. Notre Dame was “so dominant,” Babers said, he forgot the score.
“That was a doggone good football team,” he said.
Even before Dungey went down, Notre Dame was the better team. Without him, Syracuse — who nearly upset No. 2 Clemson — didn’t belong on the same field as the Irish.
“Notre Dame,” Babers said, “is better than people think they are.”
It is now one win away from getting the opportunity to prove it.