Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2025 27 JEREMIYAH LOVE PUTS ON ANOTHER SHOW Jeremiyah Love gutted out a 100-yard performance in Notre Dame's 27-17 win over Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Then, he gut- ted out his postgame press conference. Love was sick, with what his dad said on social media were flu-like symptoms. He didn't lose his voice, per se, but he didn't sound like himself, either. And he didn't feel like himself toward the end of his 98- yard touchdown run to open the scoring in the Irish's romp over the Hoosiers. "I was just out of breath," Love said. "I was gassed." That's confirmation that the sopho- more running back from St. Louis is hu- man. He hasn't looked like it in his last few outings. He certainly didn't look like it on that run, racing past every de- fender who thought they had an angle. It gets even crazier when you remember Love is also nursing a lower-leg injury, which he suffered in the second half of Notre Dame's win over USC Nov. 30. "We know he's not 100 percent," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "We're just going to keep getting him healthy. But he showed on that play, whatever percent he is, once he breaks through that third level, it's hard to catch Jeremiyah Love." It is also hard, as Indiana redshirt senior defensive back Terry Jones Jr. learned in the third quarter, to bring him down when you think you've caught him. Jones met Love two yards in the backfield, hoping for a tackle for loss. Love had other plans. He put Jones' en- tire body on the turf with one of the more vicious stiff arms ever put on film. After he was done with Jones, Love got the edge and gained 7 yards. "Every time I hand him the ball, I'm just watching like, 'What's he going to do now?'" Leonard said. "It's these little things that might be 5-yard gains, but for anybody else, it'd be a 5-yard loss, possibly." The stiff arm is yet another weapon in Love's arsenal, which seems to grow every week. "Every week he seems to find a way to make an explosive play, hurdle some- body, run for 98 yards," Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. "What do you want? It's kind of dealer's choice." Love finished the game with 108 yards on 8 carries (13.5 yards per carry), along with 18 yards on 2 receptions. He has still scored in every game this season. Love also now has six games in 2024 with more than 100 yards from scrimmage, including each of his last four. Love continues to heat up as the weather gets cold, and even as he gets banged up. He chose not to wear a knee brace for Friday night's game, believing it let him play more free. It seemed to work. "Being able to come into this game and do what I've got to do for this team, it was special," Love said. "I want to do anything for my brothers, to help this team succeed." XAVIER WATTS STANDS OUT AGAINST HOOSIERS Indiana versus Notre Dame fea- tured a slew of talent from both teams on the defensive side of the ball. The Hoosiers have two players with double- digit tackles for loss. The Irish have a pick-of-the-litter type of secondary. INDIANA GAME NOTES BY JACK SOBLE AND TYLER HORKA Love compiled 126 yards and 1 touchdown on just 10 touches against the Hoosiers. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER MISCELLANEOUS NOTES • The Fighting Irish notched their 13th consecutive sellout with a crowd of 77,622 at Notre Dame Stadium en route to winning the first-ever College Football Playoff game to be played at a campus site. • Notre Dame improved its all-time record in December to 28-13-3. The Irish are now 4-0 in Decem- ber under head coach Marcus Freeman. • Graduate student linebacker Jack Kiser extended his school-record games played total to 67 games. Graduate student defensive tackle Howard Cross III moved into second place by himself with 63 career games played, while graduate student defensive tackle Rylie Mills is now tied for third on the Notre Dame list with 62 games. • Graduate student safety Xavier Watts recorded his 13th career interception, and sixth this season, on Indiana's second possession. Those 13 thefts are the most for an Irish player since 1996. The 13 interceptions also moved Watts into a tie for third on the Notre Dame career list with five other players and is just four off the school record held by Luther Bradley (1973-77).