No. 3 Notre Dame slams Syracuse at Yankee Stadium
NEW YORK >> The band was an Aaron Judge moon shot away from the field, way up in the right-field bleachers of Yankee Stadium.
Still, the Fighting Irish lined up in the outfield and sang the alma mater — just as they would have at Notre Dame Stadium — after dispatching No. 12 Syracuse and putting themselves a step away from the College Football Playoff.
Ian Book returned to the starting lineup for No. 3 Notre Dame and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns as the Fighting Irish routed the Orange 36-3 on Saturday to stay unbeaten.
The Irish will head west next week to face struggling rival Southern California, with a spot in the playoff in their grasp.
“I don’t know that if we win our last game that we’re going to the playoffs, but that’s not in our control,” coach Brian Kelly said. “What we can control is how we prepare. If we do a good job there and win our game then we would have won all our games and we’ll let people decide who should go to the playoffs.”
They clearly wanted to be cautious with Book ahead of their trip to the Bronx to face high-scoring Syracuse (8-3, No. 12 CFP), averaging 44 points per game. Book, the junior quarterback who took over as the starter four games into the season, looked good as new.
“The ribs feel good,” Book said. “Wasn’t even thinking about them during the game.”
Donning pinstripe uniforms in a tribute to the usual residents of the ballpark, Notre Dame went up
7-0 on its second possession on a 9-yard pass from Book to Dexter Williams.
The Subway Alumni, along with the bridge and tunnel crowd, packed Yankee Stadium on a 45-degree day in the Bronx. The sellout crowd was announced at 48,104.
(8) OHIO STATE 52, MARYLAND
51>> Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) went to overtime to avoid one of the most stunning upsets of the season, beating Maryland (56, 3-5) when the Terrapins failed to convert a 2-point conversion after matching the Buckeyes’ touchdown in the first extra period.
Favored by 141/2 points, No. 8 Ohio State trailed by two TDs in the third quarter and 45-38 with under two minutes left before rallying.
After a 5-yard touchdown run by Dwayne Haskins gave the Buckeyes the lead to start overtime, Tayon Fleet-Davis scored to get the Terrapins (5-6, 3-5) within a point.
SATURDAY’S SCORES
Interim coach Matt Canada decided to end it right there, going for 2, but Tyrrell Pigrome’s pass to Jeshaun Jones was off target.
(1) ALABAMA 50, THE CITADEL
17>> Tua Tagovailoa passed for 340 yards and three touchdowns, but Alabama
(11-0) struggled for 30-plus minutes before putting away The Citadel (4-6).
(4) MICHIGAN 31, INDIANA 20 >> Karan Higdon ran for a goahead touchdown early in the third quarter and Jake Moody set a Michigan (10-1,
8-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) record with six field goals.
The Hoosiers (5-6, 2-6) led 17-15 at halftime and finished with more yards (385) than anyone has had against Michigan’s top-ranked defense this season.
(5) GEORGIA 66, UMASS 27 >> Freshman Justin Fields threw two scoring passes and ran for another TD, Tyler Simmons had rushing and receiving scores, and Georgia (10-1) protected its playoff hopes.
OKLAHOMA STATE WEST VIRGINIA 41 >> 45, (7) Taylor Cornelius threw a TD pass to Tylan Wallace with 42 seconds remaining to rally Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5 Big
12) over West Virginia (8-2,
6-2, No. 9 CFP).
(14) UTAH STATE 29, COLORADO STATE 24 >> Collin Hill’s apparent 34-yard TD pass to Preston Williams with no time left was negated by penalty, giving Utah State (10-1,
7-0 Mountain West) the victory in a wild and stunning finish to a game played in snow and freezing rain.
Colorado State (3-8, 2-5) was flagged for illegal touching after it was determined Williams had stepped out of bounds and was the first to touch the ball.
15) FLORIDA 63, IDAHO 10 >> Feleipe Franks passed for
274 yards and three TD and Florida (8-3) ran up 600 total yards on Idaho (4-7).
(17) WASHINGTON 42, OREGON STATE 23 >> Jake Browning threw three TD passes and Myles Gaskin rushed for 135 yards in the final home game of their careers, and Washington scored 28 first-quarter points.