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.”
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.”
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.
That the Fighting Irish were playing such an important game away from South Bend, Indiana, did not sit well with most of their fans. Even Kelly said it was not ideal. Part of the Shamrock Series, the off-site “home” games Notre Dame plays almost annually, the Irish’s second trip to the new Yankee Stadium had been in the works for several years. (8) OHIO STATE 52, MARYLAND 51 >> Ohio State went to overtime to avoid one of the most stunning upsets of the season, beating Maryland when the Terrapins failed to convert a 2-point conversion after matching the Buckeyes’ touchdown in the first extra period.
Favored by 14½ points, No. 8 Ohio State (10-1, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 10 CFP) 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. 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 30plus minutes before putting away The Citadel (4-6).
The Crimson Tide went into halftime tied at 10 with the FCS Bulldogs. Alabama scored two touchdowns in a 12-second span on its way to a 27-point third quarter. (4) MICHIGAN 31, INDIANA 20 >> Karan Higdon ran for a go-ahead touchdown early in the third quarter and Jake Moody set a Michigan record with six field goals.
The Wolverines (10-1, 8-0 Big Ten, No. 4 CFP) looked sluggish and it may have had something to do with looking ahead to next week’s game at No. 9 Ohio State, where they need a win to reach the Big Ten championship game for the first time.
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 45, (7) WEST VIRGINIA 41 >> Taylor Cornelius threw a touchdown pass to Tylan Wallace with 42 seconds remaining to rally Oklahoma State (6-5, 3-5 Big 12).
Will Grier led West Virginia (82, 6-2, No. 9 CFP) to the Oklahoma State 14, but couldn’t connect with David Sills V on the final play.
(14) UTAH STATE 29, COLORADO STATE 24 >> Collin Hill’s apparent 34-yard touchdown 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 when he came back in bounds and made the leaping catch between two defenders in the end zone.
(15) FLORIDA 63, IDAHO 10 >> Feleipe Franks passed for 274 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half — and Florida (8-3) ran up 600 total yards on Idaho (4-7).
(17) WASHINGTON 42, OREGON STATE 23 >> Jake Browning threw three touchdown passes and Myles Gaskin rushed for 135 yards in the final home game of their careers, and Washington scored 28 firstquarter points.
The victory by the Huskies (8-3, 6-2 Pac-12) sets up a winner-takeall matchup with No. 8 Washington State in the Apple Cup next Friday for the Pac-12 North Division title. (20) KENTUCKY 34, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 23 >> Mike Edwards had two takeaways leading to Kentucky’s first two TDs, and the Wildcats (83) made several fourth-quarter defensive stops.
(21) UTAH 30, COLORADO 7 >> Jason Shelley threw for 221 yards and two touchdowns in the snow, and Utah (8-3, 6-3) moved closer to its first Pac-12 title game appearance. FLORIDA STATE 22, (22) BOSTON COLLEGE 21 >> Deondre Francois threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Tamorrion Terry with 1:49 left and Florida State (5-6, 3-5 ACC) beat Boston College (7-4, 4-3) to keep its bowl hopes alive.
(24) NORTHWESTERN 24, MINNESOTA 14 >> Isaiah Bowser rushed for 85 yards and two TDs and Northwestern (7-4, 7-1 Big Ten, No. 22 CFP) turned three turnovers by Minnesota (5-6, 2-6) quarterback Tanner Morgan into 10 points. (25) MISSISSIPPI STATE 52, ARKANSAS6>> Nick Fitzgerald threw four TD passes and ran for another score to help Mississippi State (74, 3-4 SEC, No. 21 CFP) rout Arkansas (2-9, 0-7).