1ST PLAY SENDS IRISH ON WAY
Pick-six sets tone in Notre Dame’s victory vs. Orange
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — All it took was one play for Notre Dame to know it might be its lucky day.
Brandon Joseph returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, Audric Estime rushed for 123 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter to short-circuit a rally and the Irish defeated No. 16 Syracuse 41-24 on Saturday.
‘‘To start the game on defense and the very first play to get a picksix, that’s how you want to start if you can,’’ Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. ‘‘It was a huge momentum-builder for everybody.’’
And the momentum lasted, even after the Orange marched right down the field and scored to tie it.
The Irish (5-3) have won five of six games since opening the season with losses at Ohio State and at home to Marshall. They have won 26 consecutive regular-season games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents and have played some of their best football on the road.
‘‘Just the urgency we have as a program to improve,’’ Freeman said. ‘‘Not to stay the course, it’s fix the course. Fix the mistakes. There has to be a sense of urgency from the top down to fix the mistakes.’’
Syracuse (6-2) suffered its first loss of the season last week at Clemson, blowing an 11-point halftime lead and falling 27-21. Sean Tucker had only five carries in that game, and Orange coach Dino Babers vowed that wouldn’t happen again.
It didn’t. Tucker finished with 60 yards on 16 carries and scored on a four-yard run in the last minute of the third quarter to pull Syracuse to 24-17. But the Orange were operating without starting quarterback Garrett Shrader, who was held out of the game in the second half because of an undisclosed injury.
Shrader, a dangerous dual threat and the key to Syracuse’s offense, rushed only twice for two yards and was 5-for-14 for just 35 yards.
‘‘I’m really disappointed about the loss but still feel good about this football team,’’ Babers said. ‘‘We’re 6-2. The two opponents that we just played were extremely, extremely physical. Obviously, some of that stuff has taken a toll. I told the team to stay together, which we will do.’’
Backup quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson sparked the Orange, throwing a 23-yard pass to Damien Alford to set up the touchdown run by Tucker and tossing a 13-yard touchdown pass to D’Marcus Adams. But a tipped pass was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Marist Liufau less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, and Estime scored on 11- and two-yard runs to keep the Irish comfortably in front.
‘‘That was the moment for me when I thought, ‘We got it,’ ’’ Freeman said of the interception. ‘‘It was good to see this team battle.’’
Syracuse entered the game leading the ACC in total defense, but its run defense was exposed by Clemson. The Tigers rushed for 293 yards on 60 carries, and Notre Dame was intent on doing the same, relying on its huge offensive line and the punishing runs of Estime and Logan Diggs, who had 20 carries apiece. The Irish outgained the Orange 246-61 on the ground.
‘‘We’re just going to run over you,’’ Estime said. ‘‘You’re going to have to stop us. If you’re not stopping us, we’re going to keep on doing it until the game’s over. Just showed our identity today.’’
Notre Dame quarterback Drew Pyne, who rarely was pressured, threw to tight end Michael Mayer for 37 yards and again for 11 more before tossing a three-yard touchdown pass to Jayden Thomas to give the Irish a 21-7 lead with 17 seconds left in the first half.