Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541560
24 NOV. 29, 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 1. Notre Dame Is A Legit National Championship Contender It's journalism 101 not to make the story about yourself, so I will preface these five thoughts with a disclaimer: I'm delving into the first person for the first one. But that doesn't mean it's about me. It really isn't. It's all about the Fighting Irish. Sitting in the Notre Dame Stadium press box a couple hours after the Irish finished off their 70-7 victory over Syracuse, I got a text from my stepdad. He's not a Notre Dame guy. Grew up in Hawai'i. Lived in California for a bit. Has been in Texas for decades. He's got no blue and gold af- filiations whatsoever outside of following what I do here. And by way of that, he tunes into Notre Dame games when he can — which has become increasingly often. His text? "Irish peaking at right time. All three phases rockin. Nobody wants to play them. I would say they are the favorite to win it all at this point." Important to note; he's a diehard San Francisco 49ers fan with signed Joe Montana and Jerry Rice jerseys hanging up in his media room. He's also a part-time team photographer for the University of Hawai'i football program. He knows ball, and that was his takeaway from Notre Dame's stomping of Syracuse. He probably isn't wrong. The Irish are definitely among the handful of teams that first come to mind as national title contenders. There isn't any denying it at this point. 2. The Running Game Remains Notre Dame's Identity The Irish won a game in which redshirt fresh- man quarterback CJ Carr completed 5 of 9 pass attempts for 49 yards with 1 touchdown. And they won that game by 63 points. Notre Dame is an offensive juggernaut in 2025, and the passing game led by Carr has been a major component in that, but when push comes to shove — literally, when push comes to shove — the Irish would always much prefer to run you over and run right by you than rack up prolific passing numbers. Excluding one sack and two kneel downs, Notre Dame rushed 21 times for 342 yards and 6 touch- downs versus Syracuse. Being the big, bruising bully and running behind hungry offensive linemen eager to assert their dominance is the Irish way. 3. Extra Points Are Cool And All, But … Notre Dame has not made a field goal since the North Carolina State game Oct. 11. Granted, the Irish have only attempted three in the last five games. They did not line up for one versus the Orange. But at some point, with a College Football Playoff appearance in plain sight, you'd like to see one go through the uprights to build true freshman Erik Schmidt's confidence. Schmidt has made 23 consecutive extra points dating back to that North Carolina State game, but he is 0 of 2 on field goals in the games there- after and 0 of 3 on the season. The Irish will play in closer games in the CFP. Just look at last year. Points were at a premium then and they will be that way in the near future, too. There is no guar- antee Schmidt can provide them at the moment. 4. Notre Dame's Argument To Be Ranked Ahead Of Miami Is Real OK. I'm doing it again. The first person thing. My dad always told me the adage, "What have you done for me lately?" applies to so much in life. It's applicable to the current College Football Playoff race. Sure, Miami beat Notre Dame. But that was Aug. 31. The Hurricanes beat the Orange 38-10 Nov. 8. The Irish beat that same Syracuse squad 70-7 two weeks later. The CFP committee has consistently ranked Notre Dame ahead of Miami in November even in spite of the head-to-head result, and the disparity in the performances against common opponents like Syracuse is a reason why. It fuels the idea that if Notre Dame played Miami right now, much closer to the playoff than when the two actually met, the outcome would be a lot different. That line of thinking isn't going away with Notre Dame playing the way it is, beating their last three opponents — two of them being winning football teams in Navy and Pitt — by an averaging margin of 44.7 points per game. 5. Kudos To Steve Angeli Let's keep this one short and sweet; seeing former Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli at midfield for the coin toss and the way he was gleefully mobbed by Irish players after the game in embraces that lasted so long many guys in blue and gold missed the singing of the alma mater on Senior Day says a lot. Angeli is a beloved figure in recent Notre Dame lore, and he was received wonderfully in his return to South Bend as a Syracuse quarterback who couldn't suit up because he's rehabbing a torn Achilles tendon. If he was healthy and playing, he'd have been treated the same way postgame. The reverence for him from the Irish is genuine. And that's what it's all about. All love. FIVE THOUGHTS BY TYLER HORKA Senior defensive lineman Junior Tuihalamaka and Notre Dame's 70-7 demolition of Syracuse was far more impressive than the 38-10 win Miami posted against the Orange two weeks earlier. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER