Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 28, 2024 17 Notre Dame's blowout victory. He evis- cerated a defender's ankles with another one of those jump-cuts for a gain of 20 in that matchup, too. Everything was working for Love that day, finishing with 10 carries for 109 yards. "Shoot, it was great, man," Love said. "All of practice this week, we practiced hard, trusted our guys. To come out in the first half and to do that well rush- ing, it's a great thing to see. I'm proud of everybody." In between those winning efforts, de- spite the loss to Northern Illinois, Love manufactured his greatest highlight yet. He had recognized that the Huskies were diving at his knees whenever he got to the third level, and he knew that if he found open space, they would try to do it again. His solution early in the third quarter was simple: Jump over anyone who tried. On a run that began from the 34-yard line, Love squared up an NIU safety at the 25. He leaped so high that his arms started flailing to keep his balance, and he did so successfully enough to take it the rest of the way for six. It was Love's first time hurdling someone in a game, and even he couldn't believe it. "It was kind of crazy, because I felt like I was really high in the air, like I was flying or something like that," Love said. "It was a moment of like, 'Damn, what did I just do?' Landed it and went to score." Together, Love and Price form a two- headed monster. The Irish add a third head when they incorporate Leonard, one of the nation's best runners at quar- terback. Together, the Irish entered Week 4 averaging 6.4 yards per carry, which ranks 12th in the country out of 134 FBS teams. Love and Price arrived at Notre Dame at different times, but due to Price tear- ing his Achilles before his freshman sea- son, they made their debuts on the same day: Aug. 26, 2023, when the Irish took on Navy in Dublin, Ireland. When Love touched the ball that day, you couldn't help but go, "Whoa. This kid is different." His burst up the field and surprising ability to break tackles — and remember, Love is about 20 to 25 pounds of muscle heavier now than he was then — was rare, even in his first college game. On Price's first-ever carry, he saw a crease up the middle and didn't look back, scoring from 19 yards out. Price often thinks about that carry, and it reminds him of an important lesson both he and Love learned over the past year and change. "Once I see it happen, just go," Price said. "Once you get past the line of scrimmage, that is the most important thing. I feel like that's where I really en- hanced my game. Just making that deci- sion to go full-speed once I get past the line and knowing I can make something happen in space." Price can still struggle with hesitancy at the line of scrimmage, which can explain some of the inconsistencies in his stat lines. Love has been better at pinballing through the tackle box if he needs to, although his ability to make defenders miss in a phone booth helps as well. Both backs benefit from the other, though. McCullough's philosophy is that ev- ery member of his "stable," as he calls the running back room, gives 100 per- cent on every rep. Price explained that the rotation helps him and Love keep their energy up, which allows them to hit home runs any chance they get. "In my touchdown against Purdue … I went in the last play and I had all my energy," Price said. "The defense was a little tired going into the half. "Not saying that's the reason those things happen, but it keeps us healthier as a running back room, it builds confi- dence as a running back room and over- all, it builds a lot of camaraderie with each other." ✦ Price posted 20 carries for 154 yards (7.7 average), with a team-best long rush of 70 yards, during Notre Dame's 2-1 start to the season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER