Syracuse obliterated by Notre Dame 70-7, suffers worst loss since 1893
Syracuse was embarrassed in South Bend Saturday against Notre Dame, falling 70-7 for its worst loss since losing 66-0 to Union in 1893. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Syracuse made history on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium.
It became the first college football team to allow three straight touchdowns before the opposing offense stepped on the field.
After falling behind 35-0 through the first quarter — SU’s largest-ever first-quarter deficit — Syracuse (3-8, 1-6 Atlantic Coast) suffered its worst blowout of the 21st century in an embarrassing 70-7 defeat against No. 9 Notre Dame (9-2, Independent). The Orange have now lost seven straight games, their longest skid since 2020.
Syracuse’s 49-0 halftime deficit was its largest of the millennium. The 63-point loss was SU’s fourth-largest defeat in program history and most lopsided since a 66-0 loss to Union back in 1893. And its 70 points allowed were the most by a Power Four team this year.
The first time SU’s defense stepped on the field, at the 7:08 mark of the first quarter, it trailed 21-0. Two plays later, Notre Dame’s probable Heisman candidate Jeremiyah Love — who detonated for eight carries, 171 rushing yards and three scores against Syracuse — ripped off a 45-yard touchdown run to make it 28-0.
And it just kept getting worse. And worse. And worse.
Freshman walk-on quarterback Joe Filardi, who started his second game of the year Saturday, threw two pick-sixes in the first quarter. That included his first throw of the contest, which Fighting Irish safety Jalen Stroman ran back for a 44-yard touchdown. SU ran the ball with no effectiveness, finishing with 2.2 yards per carry, and it punted six times.
Senior punter Jack Stonehouse’s first attempt of the day was blocked, caught in midair at the 22-yard line by Notre Dame’s Luke Talich and returned for a touchdown. That made it 14-0.
Syracuse was without its leading rusher Yasin Willis, who was unexpectedly ruled out with an undisclosed injury a day prior, and nobody could pick up the pieces.
Again.
It’s a broken record at this point, but Syracuse’s once-promising 2025 season fell off the rails in an unthinkable manner. Week 1 starting quarterback Steve Angeli, a Notre Dame transfer, led the nation in passing yards (1,317) through four games, helping SU start 3-1. But after Angeli tore his Achilles in the Orange’s Week 4 victory over Clemson, they haven’t won since.
LSU transfer Rickie Collins started in place of Angeli. He only lasted three full games before Syracuse head coach Fran Brown benched him for Filardi.
Going from one of the country’s top passers to lacking a well-functioning quarterback is a difficult switch. The Orange have proven that one injury can dash a team’s hopes and dreams. Especially when it involves the quarterback position.
A little over 70 minutes before kickoff Saturday, Filardi stood near the 25-yard line along Syracuse’s sideline, grabbed a shoulder tube with his right arm and wagged it around to get loose. He stoically paced around while his eyes darted around Notre Dame Stadium, basking himself in the scene as Fighting Irish fans piled in.
Filardi never thought he’d be here. The freshman lacrosse commit walked on to SU’s football team in the fall. After Syracuse’s quarterback situation became a mess, Filardi earned a surprise start against North Carolina on Oct. 31. On Monday, Brown announced he’d receive a second starting opportunity versus Notre Dame.
Filardi completed 4-of-18 passes in his starting debut — a 27-10 loss to UNC. When asked the following Monday about what Filardi does well as a quarterback, Brown declined to specify. For Filardi, a Long Island lacrosse kid at heart, it’s more than likely he envisioned himself taking the field at Notre Dame’s historic Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium. But not this.
One pass later, Filardi was caught in a chasedown with a defender returning his first throw of the day back for a touchdown — a desperate sprint that led to nothing, much like this final stretch of Syracuse’s 2025 season.
