No. 12 Notre Dame has fought back from a 0-2 start to the campaign to get back into the hunt for the College Football Playoff with five games in remaining their regular season.
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The Irish had a difficult schedule to begin the season, losing to then-No. 10 Miami in Week 1 and then-No. 16 Texas A&M in Week 3. Those defeats don’t look so bad in Week 9, as the Hurricanes are No. 9 and the Aggies have remained undefeated and climbed to No. 3.
Freshman quarterback CJ Carr has made his mark as of the better young passers in the country. But the true story for the resurgence of the Irish has been the running game, led by junior running backs Jeremiah Love and Jadarian Price.
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Love has rushed 124 times for 758 yards and nine touchdowns. Price has added 509 yards and eight touchdowns on 76 carries.
The offensive line has has made progress since they were overwhelmed by Miami’s front seven in Week 1, but the unit will be without a key member for the next few games.
Per Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, left guard and team captain Billy Schrauth is expected to miss the next three to four weeks with a knee injury he sustained in Notre Dame’s 34-24 win over then-No. 20 USC on Saturday night.
“Notre Dame standout left guard Billy Schrauth is expected to miss 3-4 weeks due to a knee injury he suffered vs. USC Saturday, sources tell @CBSSports,” Zenitz posted on X. “Schrauth, a team captain for the No. 12 Irish, is viewed as one of the top draft prospects among draft eligible guards.”
The Irish have a bye in Week 9 before going on the road to play 1-5 Boston College on Nov. 1. Notre Dame will then play Navy, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Stanford to close out the regular season.
Sophomore offensive lineman Sullivan Absher was entered into Saturday night’s game to replace Shrauth.
The loss of Schrauth could have an impact on the running game as the Irish try to make a case to the CFP selection committee that they’re one of the nation’s best 12 teams.
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