Irish keep grip on CFP with rout

NO. 3 N. DAME 36, NO. 12 SYRACUSE 3

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.”

Notre Dame held out Book from last week’s home game against Florida State with a rib injury. He wasn’t missed as the Irish (11-0, No. 3 CFP) rolled with Brandon Wimbush at quarterback.

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.”

The Irish donned pinstripe uniforms in a tribute to the usual residents of the ballpark.