SOUTH BEND, IN – Notre Dame football star Jeremiyah Love, fresh off a 70-7 Senior Day shellacking of Syracuse, allowed himself the slightest of knowing smiles as he considered a tasty hypothetical Saturday evening.
Should the ninth-ranked Irish make it back to the College Football Playoff, just how dangerous might they be?
“I mean, we’re a very dangerous team,” Love said. “I feel like we have all the things that we need in order to have success.”
Running game? Check.
Passing game? Check.
Airtight blocking? Check.
Ball-hawking secondary? Two more pick-sixes in the first 5:17 on Saturday gave the Irish three of those in a span of five quarters.
Run-stuffing defense? Yep, that’s there too.
And so, after his 171 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just eight carries — EIGHT! — Love spoke on behalf of America’s growing college football storm.
“I feel like we match up well with pretty much anybody,” said Love, who tied Jerome Bettis’ 34-year-old program record for most scrimmage touchdowns (20) in a season. “We can play with anybody. We’ll go and compete against anybody. We’re not scared or anything like that.”
Why should they be? Since the bucket of ice-cold water that was the Northern Illinois loss way back in Week 2 of 2024, Notre Dame has lost just three games by a combined 15 points.
That includes a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in last year’s CFP title game.
You know all about this year’s 0-2 start at Miami and at home against Texas A&M and how just four points kept the Irish from taking those teams into overtime.
But what about this stat: In its past 23 de facto elimination games, coach Marcus Freeman’s Irish are 22-1.
Last year’s 13-game winning streak that got them back to Atlanta for the final could yet be surpassed over the next two months. It would take 14 straight wins for the Irish to run the table and end a national championship drought that dates back to 1988.
Jeremiyah Love says Notre Dame can ‘compete with anybody’
Love, making a serious bid at ending the school’s Heisman Trophy drought that goes back one additional year (1987), sounds confident that’s exactly what might happen.
“We’re going to put our best foot forward, no matter who we’re playing,” he said. “As for who we’re playing, we don’t know. We still have one more game to play (at Stanford) to finish out the season strong.
“There’s no guarantee that we’ll be in the playoffs as of right now. We still have business to handle. But if we are to make it that far, we believe in our ability to compete with anybody.”
Top-ranked Ohio State? The Irish have lost to them three straight years, but do you really think Buckeyes coach Ryan Day wants to see Freeman’s club across the way in a potential Rose Bowl quarterfinal?
Second-ranked Indiana? Curt Cignetti’s second edition feels more legitimate than the Cinderella story that ended last December in a first-round game at Notre Dame Stadium, but the Irish were up 27-3 at one point before taking their foot off the gas.
The third-ranked Aggies? Only a botched hold kept that instant classic from going to extras back on Sept. 13.
Dynastic Georgia, putting it all together again for a possible third national title in five seasons under coach Kirby Smart? Notre Dame has the fortifying memory of a 23-13 win over the Bulldogs in last season’s Sugar Bowl quarterfinal of the CFP.
Not bad, ‘Team B’, not bad at all
Sure, Syracuse is playing out the string after an injury-filled season, but the 3-8 Orange are still an ACC member.
And Notre Dame, aka “Team B” in ACC social-media account parlance, came within seven exasperating seconds of finishing off its first shutout in 42 games, dating back to a 44-0 win over Boston College in the Senior Day snow of 2022.
That says plenty, no matter how many lacrosse players Syracuse had taking snaps on this unseasonably warm afternoon. This was the worst loss for the Orange since a 66-0 final against Union College in 1893.
Two years before that, the Schenectady, N.Y., power beat Syracuse 75-0, so this was the second-most points allowed in program history.
So the modern Irish have taken their place alongside a school that now plays at the Division III level. The Garnet Chargers (née Dutchmen) have an NCAA playoff game Sunday against Muhlenberg.
Before Saturday’s play, 10 FBS teams had pounded an opponent this season by 63 points or more. Just one of those victims was a Power Four foe: Oklahoma State, a 69-3 loser at Oregon on Sept. 6.
The other nine losing teams on that 2025 list: Northwestern State (twice), East Texas A&M, Louisiana-Monroe, Indiana State, Grambling State, Portland State, Akron and Alcorn State. Of those, only two play at the FBS level (ULM and Akron).
For Notre Dame to roar out to a 35-0 lead after just 11 minutes was one thing. That tied the 1921 team’s fast start against Kalamazoo College for most first-quarter points in program history.
For the Irish to keep the hammer down and nearly eclipse the 1932 win over Haskell Institute (73-0) for largest scoring output in Notre Dame Stadium history, well, that’s another level of warning to a wide-open CFP landscape.
“We’ll go with both feet on the gas pedal, actually,” Love said. “Whenever that time is that time, we’ll be ready.”
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
