East Rutherford, NJ (SportsNetwork.com) – Everett Golson had an uneven
performance in eighth-ranked Notre Dame’s 31-15 win over the Syracuse Orange
at MetLife Stadium on Saturday night.
Golson was 32-of-39 for 362 yards with four touchdowns and set a Fighting
Irish record with 25 straight completions, but also threw two interceptions
— one of which was returned for a score — and fumbled twice.
Notre Dame (4-0) committed a total of five turnovers, allowing Syracuse to
hang around.
Terrel Hunt completed 22-of-38 passes for 294 yards with one interception for
the Orange (2-2).
Golson threw touchdown passes of 23 and 72 yards to Will Fuller on consecutive
drives in the second quarter to make it 14-0.
Cole Murphy kicked a 38-yard field goal to put Syracuse on the board with 3:07
left before halftime.
The Irish then marched to the Syracuse 15-yard line. Golson, however, lost
control of the ball while attempting to spike it, a mistake that cost Notre
Dame a chance at points.
Hunt was picked off on the opening drive of the third quarter. Following the
interception, Golson capped a nine-play sequence with an 8-yard TD pass to
Corey Robinson.
The Orange found the end zone on the first play of the fourth quarter when
Hunt ran for a 7-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked.
Golson answered with a 13-yard scoring strike to Torii Hunter Jr.
After Murphy missed from 37 yards, Durell Eskridge returned a Golson
interception 29 yards to the end zone. The two-point conversion failed,
leaving the score at 28-15 with 5:09 remaining.
Kyle Brindza kicked a 37-yard field goal for Notre Dame with 1:57 to play.
Game Notes
Fuller had six catches for 119 yards … The Fighting Irish lead the all-time
series 4-3 … These teams will meet at MetLife Stadium again in 2016.
