Irish hand ’Cuse 2nd straight loss
All it took was one play for the Irish to know it might be their lucky day.
Brandon Joseph returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the game, tailback Audric Estimé rushed for 123 yards and scored twice in the fourth quarter to thwart a Syracuse rally, and Notre Dame defeated the No. 16 Orange 41-24 on Saturday.
“It was huge. To start the game on defense and the very first play to get a pick-six, that’s how you want to start if you can,” Notre Dame first-year coach Marcus Freeman said. “It was a huge momentum builder for everybody.”
And the momentum lasted, even after Syracuse marched right down the field and scored to tie it.
Notre Dame (5-3) has won five of six since opening the season with losses at Ohio State and at home to Marshall. The Irish have won 26 consecutive regular-season games against ACC opponents, and they’ve played some of their best football on the road, including a 45-32 win at No. 21 North Carolina.
“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. Star tailback Sean Tucker only had five carries in that game and coach Dino Babers vowed that would not happen again. It didn’t.
Tucker finished with 60 yards on 16 carries and scored on a 4-yard run in the final minute of the third quarter to pull Syracuse within 24-17. But the Orange were operating without starting quarterback Garrett Shrader, who was kept out of the game in the second half because of an undisclosed injury. Shrader, a dangerous dual threat and the key to the offense, rushed only twice for 2 yards and completed 5 of 14 passes for just 35 yards and a 13-yard touchdown pass.
“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.”
Illini win sixth straight: Chase Brown rushed for 149 yards and scored on consecutive series in the second quarter, helping No. 17 Illinois to a 26-9 victory over Nebraska. The Illini beat the Cornhuskers for the third year in a row. They won a sixth straight game for the first time since 2011 and secured their first winning regular-season record since 2007. Nebraska lost quarterback Casey Thompson to an injury in the second quarter. It committed four turnovers and lost its 20th straight against a Top 25 opponent. Illinois’ Tommy DeVito was 20 of 22 for 179 yards and two touchdowns. The Illini’s top-ranked defense held Nebraska to 29 yards on 20 plays in the second half and 248 for the game, the fewest by the Huskers since they finished with the same number against Michigan State in 2018.
Oklahoma uses trickery, defense to beat Iowa State:
Eric Gray rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown, the Oklahoma defense posted three interceptions and the Sooners defeated Iowa State 27-13 on Saturday.
A pick by linebacker Danny Stutsman came with 5:24 left in the fourth quarter and set up a 2-yard scoring run by Gray to seal the game for Oklahoma (5-3, 2-3 Big 12).
It was the fifth straight loss for Iowa State (3-5, 0-5). The previous four defeats had been by a total of 14 points.
“We capitalized situationally,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “Our kicking game, again, was a real weapon for us.”
Oklahoma used a little trickery to get its first touchdown.
The Sooners were lined up for a 19-yard field goal late in the first quarter, but holder Michael Turk flipped the ball to kicker Zach Schmit as he ran past. Schmit’s 2-yard touchdown reception put Oklahoma up 10-3 early in the second quarter.
“Everything fell into place,” Schmit said. “I walked in. It was like the Red Sea parting. The blockers did a great job. The scheme was amazing.”
Auburn finalizing deal to hire Miss St AD Cohen:
Auburn is finalizing a deal to hire Mississippi State athletic John Cohen to the same position for the SEC West rival school.
Cohen is in his seventh year as athletic director at Mississippi State after a long career as a successful baseball coach. His first job could be to decide the fate of football coach Bryan Harsin, whose team is at the bottom of the Southeastern Conference Western Division after ending his first season in 2021 with five straight losses.