If Jeremiyah Love didn't already make his Heisman statement this season, he certainly did so in Notre Dame's win against USC on Saturday night.
Love entered the season considered one of the top contenders for the award given to the sport's best player. However, after some quiet weeks and the Irish losing their first two games, winning the award became an uphill climb. In the victory over the Trojans, he might now be the frontrunner. And in the process of running to the front of the pack, he also set some ND history to boot.
Love ran over, around, and through the Trojans all night en route to 228 yards rushing. The number is a record for Notre Dame Stadium, while not technically a school record, it is the most that anyone has run for in "The House That Rockne Built" since 1930. That covers 512 contests.
Jeremiyah Love’s historic performance vs USC vaults him into Heisman contention
To hammer home how special his Saturday night was, his 134 yards in the first half were also the most any Fighting Irish player has run for before the break since Julius Jones ran for 171 in the first half against Stanford in 2003. That was Jones' second-to-last game for the Blue and Gold, and he finished with 218 yards on the ground.
The cherry on the cupcake for Jeremiyah Love's official entry into the Heisman race was that he also had five catches for 37 yards to total 265 yards of total offense.
His performance, and Notre Dame's in general, keep them firmly in the race for the College Football Playoffs. It was also a statement win because it's likely to be the last Top 25 team they'll play this season. Had they lost on Saturday night, their hunt would have been over. Instead, it feels more likely than ever that Marcus Freeman will march into the postseason despite significant setbacks at the beginning of the year for the second straight campaign.