Fighting Irish take care of business in the Bronx
They move closer to playoff spot with rout of Syracuse. Trojans are final obstacle.
NEW YORK — Ian Book returned to the starting lineup for Notre Dame and threw for 292 yards and two touchdowns as the thirdranked Fighting Irish routed Syracuse 36-3 at Yankee Stadium on Saturday.
Notre Dame will next face the struggling Trojans at the Coliseum with a spot in the College Football 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.”
Notre Dame held out Book from last week’s home game against Florida State with a rib injury. He wasn’t missed as the Fighting Irish (11-0) rolled with Brandon Wimbush at quarterback.
They clearly wanted to be cautious with Book ahead of their trip to the Bronx to face No. 12 Syracuse (8-3, 5-2 ACC), which had been averaging 44 points. Book, 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 nine-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. The sellout crowd was announced at 48,104.
“We’ve played in California, Chicago and New York,” Book said. “I think it’s awesome. I think it’s great experiences for us. We might have to fly a little bit more than other teams but I don’t think it hurts anyone.”
The Orange played most of the game without starting quarterback Eric Dungey, who left in the first quarter with what the school said was an upper-body injury.