Nov 22, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Jalen Stroman (7) celebrates scoring on an interception with Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame found a way to score 21 straight points against Syracuse without the offense even taking the field on Saturday at South Bend.

In one of the wildest starts of the 2025 college football season, the Fighting Irish scored 21 points in the first quarter before its offense even took a snap. It was all because of its defense.

Here's how it happened within three consecutive Syracuse drives on offense...

  • Syracuse quarterback Joseph Filardi threw a pick-six to Notre Dame safety Jalen Stroman
  • Stroman blocked a Syracuse punt for safety Luke Talich to return for a touchdown
  • Filardi threw another pick-six on the next drive to Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore

What an absolute disaster of a start for Syracuse without even facing the Notre Dame offense at first.

The Notre Dame offense eventually got in on the fun with three touchdowns of their own to go up 42-0 early in the second quarter.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: How Notre Dame went up 21-0 on Syracuse without playing offense

Reporting by Cory Woodroof, For The Win / For The Win

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