It's hard to argue that anything terrible happened in the Notre Dame football team's 52-3 win over Florida State. However, the Irish win was tainted slightly by the loss of one of the squad's best defenders.
The question now is just how long the Blue and Gold might be without defensive tackle Howard Cross III. The All-World defender left the game early with an apparent ankle injury and did not return. The one possible positive note is that head coach Marcus Freeman said that at least part of the reason Cross didn't return is because the game was a blowout.
“I don’t know if he could have came back,” the Notre Dame football coach said after the game. “(They) didn’t even tell me that. Just said he’s out right now with an ankle sprain. I think by the time there was a possibility maybe he could have came back, it was over.”
Notre Dame Football holding its collective breath over Howard Cross III
Fellow defensive lineman Rylie Mills was clearly not happy to see his teammate go down.
“When Howard went down, for me, I was just gutted for him (considering) how much he put in this week and how much he makes everyone better,” Mills said “So that kind of gave me a little like frustration, like we saw a guy go down, which is you never want to see."
The good news here is that Cross's replacement, Donovan Hinish had a great game. He was second on the team in tackles with 5 and had 2 of the Notre Dame football team's 8 sacks. More news about Cross will likely come when Freeman talks to the media on Monday.