Nine minutes into the first quarter, the Notre Dame football team's offense finally took the field against the Syracuse Orange. CJ Carr took his first snap with his team already leading 21-0.
You read that right. Before the Fighting Irish offense ever took the field, they were already staked to a three-touchdown lead by Chris Ash's defense and the program's special teams unit.
To make matters worse, before CJ Carr took the field for Notre Dame, Syracuse had already made a change at quarterback. They made the change because walk-on Joseph Filardi started the game by throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Jalen Stroman on the second snap to make it 7-0.
Notre Dame football makes a crazy kind of history against Syracuse
The Irish then took a 14-0 lead by blocking a Syracuse punt (by Stroman again). Luke Talich picked up the punt, which went about seven yards and returned it into the end zone.
On Syracuse's third possession, Filardi tried to throw a slant against Leonard Moore, but apparently no one told the young quarterback you don't try to do that kind of thing against the all-world defensive back. Moore picked off the pass and took it back for a 21-0 lead.
Already leading by three scores halfway through the first quarter, it was finally the offense's turn to get in on the action. After Carr completed his first pass attempt, a 14-yard pass to Jordan Faison, Jeremiyah Love took ND's second snap of the day 45 yards for a touchdown to make the score 28-0.
After Syracuse once again failed to move the ball and the Irish got the ball back, it was Jadarian Price's turn. After Carr tried a long pass to rub salt in the wound, Price said, "don't worry about it, I got it," and took the ball 58 yards up the middle for another touchdown.
When the smoke cleared on the first quarter of Saturday afternoon's action, the Notre Dame football team held a 35-0 lead and were stopped just a yard short of making it 42-0. It was, according to Irish historians, the first time the program had ever seen that particular kind of domination in the 138 years of its existence.