The University of Notre Dame football team (10-3) earned its 10th victory of the season with a dominating 40-8 victory over Oregon State (8-5) in the 90th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, on Friday afternoon.
The Irish piled up 448 yards of offense compared to just 197 for the Beavers, who would manage just two rushing yards in the game. First-time starting quarterback Steve Angeli was hyper efficient, completing 14 of 18 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns.
One of those touchdown passes went to game MVP Jordan Faison, who led the Irish with five catches for 115 yards. Jayden Thomas also caught four passes for 59 yards and a touchdown.
The Irish defensive effort, highlighted by four sacks, was led by Most Outstanding Lineman of the Game Jordan Botelho, who finished the contest with a career-high five tackles, a sack and a quarterback hurry.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish started out the game solid and focused on both defense and offense. The defense started it off with a four-and-out, but a low angle Oregon State punt eventually dribbled down to the Irish four-yard line.
Notre Dame started its drive with three rushes for a first down, then Angeli found Faison wide open down the right sideline for 55 yards. The Irish returned to the ground game with four straight runs, including a nine-yard jaunt from Gi’Bran Payne, to earn a first down at the OSU five-yard line.
Oregon State forced its first defensive play for a loss, putting the Irish back at the eight-yard line on third down. Angeli found Jayden Thomas at the three and the Irish wideout turned up the field and powered into the end zone for the first score of the game and his first touchdown since the season opener against Navy.
The Irish put together another drive on their next possession into Oregon State territory, led by Thomas with receptions of 26 and 14 yards. The Beaver defense made a key play on third down, however, sacking Angeli for a loss of 13 yards. Spencer Shrader’s 50-yard field goal effort was long enough but ended up wide left.
Oregon State moved into Notre Dame territory on their next possession, but Notre Dame’s Javontae Jean-Baptiste sacked the quarterback on first down, JD Bertrand broke up a pass on second-and-long and DJ Brown made the tackle after a short reception to force a punt to the Notre Dame 10-yard line.
Late in the first half, Oregon State had the ball at midfield on third and long. The Beavers called a run play to get to fourth and six, then attempted a fake punt which Notre Dame was well prepared for. Joshua Burnham burst through the line and tackled the Beaver upback for a loss of five yards and Notre Dame took over at the Oregon State 44-yard line with 3:29 remaining in the second quarter.
Jadarian Price started the drive with a 13-yard run, then Angeli found Thomas on a roll out for 11 yards and a first down. OSU eventually pushed the Irish to third down and three when Angeli connected with Faison for a first down to the three-yard line. Two plays later, Price walked into the end zone for the second Irish touchdown of the game.
Notre Dame received the ball to start the second half and moved their lead to 17 points on a 44-yard field goal from Shrader. The drive was keyed by a third down reception by Eli Raridon for nine yards and a 33-yard reception by Faison.
Howard Cross III ended Oregon State’s next drive with a 10-yard sack on third down to force a punt to the Notre Dame 40.
The next Irish drive started with a 16-yard pass to Jaden Greathouse, an eight-yard run from Price then a 17-yard scramble from Angeli to give the Irish a first down at the OSU 16-yard line. On third down Angeli found Faison at the goal line for a 13-yard scoring strike and the Irish moved the lead to 24-0.
The Irish defense would not relent on the next drive. A third down sack from Xavier Watts was followed by a fourth-down sack from Jordan Botelho to provide the Irish offense the ball at the OSU 42.
Angeli began the drive with a rush for 14 yards then found Matt Salerno on third down for a conversion down to the Oregon State seven-yard line. The Beaver defense stepped up, however, and ended the drive when Payne was stopped at the one-yard line on fourth and two.
Notre Dame’s defense took advantage of the field possession and stuffed the Oregon State running back on the first play for a safety. Burnham and Drayk Bowen combined for the stop.
The Irish took advantage of the short safety kickoff. Price broke a 54-yard run through the right side of the line to put the Irish in scoring range, then Love finished it off with a catch and run of 13 yards for a touchdown.
Oregon State followed with its only scoring drive of the game. A 33-yard touchdown pass spoiled the Irish shut out, but Notre Dame still had one more drive in it. Devyn Ford rushed for 31 yards on the drive after the Irish recovered an onside kick. Chase Ketterer then earned his place in history with the first touchdown of his career. A do-it-all player for the Irish, Ketterer would have been the third emergency quarterback for the Irish in the game today.