Four Notre Dame players win weekly awards for USC performance

To use a Marcus Freeman-ism, four Notre Dame football players received individual glory following Saturday’s win over USC.

Here’s the full list of Fighting Irish who were honored this week by various national awards.

RB Jeremiyah Love: AP National Player of the Week, Doak Walker National Running Back of the Week

Love played the most productive game of his career on Saturday, rushing for 228 yards and adding another 37 through the air. He set the Notre Dame record for most rushing yards in a game at Notre Dame Stadium, a facility that has hosted football games for nearly a century.

Since his quiet Week 1 at Miami, Love has had the season the Irish expected in his third and most likely final year in South Bend. He has 124 carries for 758 yards and 9 rushing touchdowns, alongside 19 receptions for 197 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns.

LG Billy Schrauth: Outland Trophy National Player of the Week

Schrauth dominated the Trojans, winning the award for the top interior lineman in college football this week. Notre Dame ran behind the redshirt junior 8 times on Saturday night for 139 yards — including 6 first downs and 5 gains of 10-plus yards — and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus.

Unfortunately Schrauth suffered what Blue & Gold has learned is a sprained MCL and will miss Week 10 at Boston College. CBS Sports reported that he’ll likely miss 3-4 weeks, which should allow him to return for the College Football Playoff if the Irish make it that far.

RB/KR Jadarian Price: Paul Hornung Award National Player of the Week

Price won the award for college football’s most versatile player, logging 209 all-purpose yards. He ran 13 times for 87 yards and added a 100-yard kickoff return touchdown, which came at a crucial juncture in the game. USC had just taken the lead for the first time since 7-0, and Price gave Notre Dame the lead back for good when he ran one back.

That was Price’s second kickoff return for a touchdown this season, and he was added to the midseason Jet Award (best returner) watch list this week as a result. He also has 76 carries for 509 yards and 8 touchdowns this season.

P James Rendell: Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week

Rendell hasn’t generated a ton of buzz this year. The Irish do not punt a lot, and when they do, the conversation usually centers around what the offense did wrong.

But Rendell has quietly been very good for Notre Dame in his second season of organized football, and the USC game was his best performance. He punted 4 times — none of which were returned — and averaged 49.0 yards per punt. Three of his punts landed inside the 20.