NEW YORK _ Notre Dame fans can put down the pitchforks. The school's decision to move this game from South Bend to the Bronx did not derail its perfect season.
The Irish's dominant 36-3 victory over Syracuse at Yankee Stadium cemented what we've known about this team for weeks: There are no holes in its lineup.
Passing game, pass rush, special teams, forcing turnovers, hitting with runners in scoring position (oh wait) ... the Irish have it all.
The nation's No. 3 team has accumulated 11 victories against teams from six conferences _ hot teams (Northwestern), cold teams (Florida State), disciplined teams (Navy), brainy teams (Stanford), rowdy teams (Virginia Tech), rush-heavy teams (Pittsburgh), pass-happy teams (Syracuse) and otherwise unbeaten teams (Michigan).
All that stands in the way of the College Football Playoff is a decidedly mediocre team. USC, which fell to 5-6 with a 34-27 loss to lowly UCLA on Saturday, will host Notre Dame on Nov. 24 in prime time.
The Orange offense entered Saturday ranked sixth in the FBS with 44.4 points per game. They were ranked 12th, winners of four straight. They got dominated, as Notre Dame came within 10 seconds of its first shutout since it blanked Michigan, 31-0, in 2014.
Syracuse starting quarterback Eric Dungey exited after getting sandwiched by three Irish defenders in the first quarter.
Backup Tommy DeVito had an equally miserable day, finishing 14 of 31 for 105 yards with two interceptions. He was sacked on back-to-back plays in the third quarter, with Drue Tranquill and Julian Okwara getting home. Okwara was so quick, left tackle Cody Conway barely touched him.
Irish QB Ian Book sat out last week with sore ribs. Safe to say he feels better.
Book performed spectacularly ... with the exception of an interception he flung into the end zone after he tripped and was stumbling to the ground. He completed 23 of 37 passes for 292 yards for two scores.
Book showed his wisdom, patience and mobility on a fourth-and-1 play in the third quarter. He rolled right and waited for tight end Cole Kmet to get free, then rifled one to him along the sideline.
The subway alums in the sellout crowd of 48,104 loved it. One of them played the school fight song on his phone as the No. 4 train approached the venue nearly three hours before kickoff. Syracuse is drivable from Yankee Stadium (four hours) and has a huge alumni base in the city, but Notre Dame had at least three-quarters of the crowd.
Hey, everyone loves a winner.
One fan wore a blue "FDNY" fire department sweatshirt with the interlocking ND.
He was among the throngs cheering when Syracuse's Andre Szmyt clanked one off the upright from 23 yards in the fourth quarter.
Shutout preserved.
But Szmyt put one through with 10 seconds to play.
Shutout gone; perfect season intact.
