Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1316443
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com DEC. 19, 2020 19 Ian Book accounted for five touchdowns — three passing, two rushing — in the 45-21 victory against Syracuse while becoming the first Irish quarterback ever to start in 30 wins (30-3 overall record). PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS of 12 passes for 100 yards. Syracuse ran 13 plays for 85 yards, with Rex Culpepper completing 5 of 9 throws for 75 yards. Items: On its second series, Notre Dame was pinned back at its 6-yard line and, after a 20-yard catch by freshman tight end Michael Mayer on the second play, it had to punt three plays later … On the Orange's second series, a 37-yard check-down to running back Sean Tucker took Syracuse to the Notre Dame 35-yard line, but a 15-yard offensive pass in- terference later resulted in another punt to the 10-yard line. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME, 24-7 Top Moments: Notre Dame re- gained the lead, 10-7, with 3:18 left when Book rambled 28 yards for the touchdown after finding no one open. Crucial to the 72-yard march was on third-and-10 from the Irish 28-yard line, Syracuse defensive end Kingsley Jonathan was called for a personal foul on Book after an incom- plete pass, thereby keeping the drive alive. Book followed with 18- and 11- yard completions to junior tight end Tommy Tremble and McKinley prior to his score. Feature Performer: The Book-to- McKinley combination connected on 21- and 28-yard touchdown passes in a span of 1:24 to provide the Irish a 24-7 cushion with six seconds left before halftime. The first came after sophomore linebacker Marist Liufau recovered a fumble by Culpepper that was forced by senior defensive tackle Myron Tagovaila-Amosa at the Orange 21- yard line. The next came on a 68-yard drive, following a 21-yard pass to Skowronek on third-and-10. Stats: Notre Dame had 311 yards of total offense in the first half, 252 through the air on 21-of-29 passing by Book. Syracuse had 174 yards of total offense, with Culpepper com- pleting 11 of 19 passes for 128 yards. Items: Syracuse took a 7-3 lead at the 9:55 mark on a 10-play, 62-yard drive in which Culpepper completed 4 of 5 passes for 45 yards, the last to wide receiver Anthony Queeley, who sidestepped cornerback Nick McCloud and safety Kyle Hamilton for the 18-yard score … Following Syracuse's touchdown, Notre Dame drove to the Orange 35-yard line, but a fourth-and-three completion to Mayer was short of the first down, which gave the ball back to Syracuse at the 6:35 mark. THIRD QUARTER NOTRE DAME, 38-14 Top Moment: After a lost fumble by Culpepper in Notre Dame terri- tory, Book on third-and-three from the Orange 17 found no open receivers but took off through the middle and went untouched into the end zone for a 31-14 lead with 6:32 remaining. Feature Performer: Owusu-Kora- moah forced a fumble on Syracuse's first series that was recovered by Tagovailoa-Amosa, and the senior rover pounced on a loose ball after pressure by fifth-year senior defen- sive Adetokunbo Ogundeji on Cul- pepper, which set up Book's 17-yard score. Stats: There were five turnovers (three by Syracuse) during the quar- ter, with two different sets coming on back-to-back plays. Items: On the next play after Ta- govailoa-Amosa's fumble recovery, Book mishandled the snap exchange under center, and the Orange recov- ered the loose ball at the Irish 43-yard line. From there, Syracuse converted a fourth-and-three situation with a pass to Taj Harris. On the next play, Tucker caught the Irish on a blitz and broke free for a 40-yard score to cut the deficit to 24-14 with 11:20 left … At 24-14, there were turnovers on consecutive plays again when Book was intercepted by safety Ja'Had Carter — but then Owusu-Koramoah notched his fumble recovery to set up a 53-yard march that was capped by Book's run that made it 31-14. Wil- liams had a 20-yard run, and Book scrambled for eight on fourth-and- five from the Syracuse 32-yard line … Fifth-year senior Daelin Hayes inter-