Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman shares postgame injury update on RB Jeremiyah Love

The injury to Notre Dame football running back Jeremiyah Love against Stanford turned out to be minor.

In the first quarter of Saturday night’s 49-20 win over the Cardinal, Irish coach Marcus Freeman told reporters in his postgame news conference that ND medical staff evaluated Love for a rib injury. His star junior running back and Heisman Trophy candidate spent 20 minutes in the locker room during the first half of play, but later returned to the game in the final minutes of the second quarter.

According to Freeman, Love returned to the game on his own accord, despite the Irish holding a convincing 28-3 lead. He remained in the game late into the third quarter.

“It was, I went out there, and they said —you could tell he was hurting — ‘Hey, I think it’s a rib injury, and so we’re gonna get it checked out, we’re gonna X-ray it,’” Freeman said, explaining the proccess when Love went down. “They went and did that, and they came back and said, ‘Hey, he’s gonna try to give it a go.’

“And he gave it a go, and you could tell he was hurting, and that was probably close to the end of the half. And then, again, I just had that conversation with him, and I just explained to him, ‘Hey, if you can help us and it’s what’s best for the team, you make that decision.’”

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Love’s injury occurred with 7:08 remaining in the opening quarter after a hit to the midsection during a 4-yard run. After exiting, Love had 5 carries for 10 yards and a 6-yard catch for the remainder of the game. Though his average production dipped, Love did reveal whether he had any physical limitations.

“I felt good immediately after they looked at me and all that type of stuff,” he said. “Just had to build up back my confidence to go out there and hit or get hit. Confidence built back up and just felt good.”

Love finished with 14 rushes for 66 yards and a touchdown to go along with his lone reception.

Before the injury, Love set a new single-season program record for most total touchdowns in a season. He scored his 21st on a 2-yard run in the first quarter, breaking a tie at the top of the list with Jerome Bettis. Love also tied Audric Estimé (2023) for Notre Dame’s all-time single-season rushing touchdown record with 18.

Entering the game, Love was 132 yards from surpassing Vegas Ferguson for most rushing yards in a single season (1,437 in 977). He ended up finishing 66 yards shy.

Notre Dame hoped to showcase Love for the final time before Heisman Trophy voting closes Dec. 8. Last Tuesday, Love was second in Heisman Trophy Odds (+375), only trailing Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza (-105), according to BetMGM.

“I know he wanted to go out there and put on a Heisman Trophy-worthy performance, and we owed it to him to say, ‘If you feel like you can go, go,'” Freeman said. And that tells you the type of competitor he is. I know he’s hurting, but he wanted to go.

“And it was safe for him. We wouldn’t put him in harm’s way, right? And the doc said, ‘If he wants to go, he can go.’ And I left that up to him because he’s earned that right.”

BOX SCORE: No. 9 NOTRE DAME 49, Stanford 10