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Notre Dame Football: Justin Yoon was Unsung Hero vs. Syracuse

By Chase Eyrich

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 01: Justin Yoon #19 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is congratulated by teammate Durham Smythe #80 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after Yoon made the extra point in the second half against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium on October 1, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Syracuse Orange 50-33. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - OCTOBER 01: Justin Yoon #19 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is congratulated by teammate Durham Smythe #80 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish after Yoon made the extra point in the second half against the Syracuse Orange at MetLife Stadium on October 1, 2016 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the Syracuse Orange 50-33. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame football finished a dominant performance beating No. 12 Syracuse 36-3 while making a College Football Playoff statement.

Brian Kelly’s Notre Dame football team did what many thought they couldn’t. This game was supposed to be a shootout, a display of two potent offenses. After all, the Irish needed to worry about the team that averaged 44-points per game before Saturday.

While many expected this type of matchup, this was not the story of the game. Instead, Notre Dame almost practically shut out one of the best offensive teams in the nation.

At the end of the day, the record books will show the three points Cuse received from their field goal attempt with 10 seconds on the clock and down 36-points. But, for this season and while the Playoff committee takes everything into consideration, this will practically be seen as the shutout that almost was.

It was a complete take over from kickoff to the final whistle by Notre Dame. Even with a 36-3 rout, the score could have been even more lopsided Saturday.

Notre Dame never had trouble moving the ball collecting 463 total yards. When we nit-pick at this game there was only one issue to bring up.

Four trips in the red zone didn’t end how Notre Dame wanted. One ended in an interception on fourth down as Ian Book’s foot was stepped on and he tossed up an unanswered prayer. Three other promising trips ended in field goals.

Justin Yoon did what he has done his entire Notre Dame career and sent them right through the uprights.

The phenomenal kick has been breaking record after record for Notre Dame, which makes calling him an “unsung” hero difficult.

In a day that saw so much offense and success, it was a different day if it weren’t for Yoon. Does Syracuse find a way to win if Yoon has a bad day? That’s not likely.

As Notre Dame quickly found themselves in the red zone often in the first quarter, they could have been up 21-0. Instead, the score was 13-0 and the Irish should be happy that it was. Yoon’s accuracy kept Notre Dame’s momentum and held the Syracuse at bay.

Next. Book's Return Propelled Irish. dark

Yoon went three-for-three on field goal attempts for the day and proved to be a big factor in the Irish’s improvement to 11-0.

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