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Newsstand: Notre Dame leads the nation in non-red zone touchdowns

IMG_7504by: Jack Soble09/20/23jacksoble56
merriweatherstaes
Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes (left, 13) wide receiver Tobias Merriweather (right) celebrate a touchdown during a 41-17 win over Central Michigan on Saturday in South Bend. (Chad Weaver, Blue & Gold)

CBS Sports college football writer Tom Fornelli tweeted a stat that reflects well on Notre Dame on Tuesday.

The Irish lead the nation in most touchdowns scored from outside the red zone so far this season, meaning touchdowns of 20 or more yards, with 12. USC is close behind at 11, while Oregon, Ohio State, UCLA and Ole Miss are tied for third with 10.

Obviously, the context that Notre Dame has played one more game than almost every other team. This includes USC, who also played Week 0 — the Trojans took their first of two bye weeks in Week 3, while the first Irish bye does not arrive until Week 8.

Nine different players have scored Notre Dame’s 12 non-red-zone touchdowns. Of those players, only three — freshman wide receiver Jaden Greathouse, senior slot receiver Chris Tyree and sophomore tight end Holden Staes — have more than 1, with 2 each. Junior wide receiver Deion Colzie, freshman running back Jeremiyah Love, sophomore running backs Jadarian Price and Gi’Bran Payne, junior running back Audric Estimé and sophomore wide receiver Tobias Merriweather each have 1.

Graduate quarterback Sam Hartman, the primary catalyst for the newly explosive Irish offense, threw 8 of them. Two (Estimé and Love) were runs. Two more (Price and Payne) were thrown by sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli.

The Irish will look to extend their lead when they face Ohio State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in South Bend.

Notre Dame tweets of the day

Top-30 (via On3’s own ranking) offensive tackle Guerby Lambert committed to Notre Dame on Tuesday.

ABC: Always Be Crootin’.

On3’s Andy Staples grilled Irish junior offensive tackle Joe Alt on his YouTube show.

Quote of the day

“[It’s] very calming. Obviously, it’s going to be a juiced-up atmosphere. It’s really important that we just stay in the moment and keep it small, keep our communication small, do a great job of articulating it to each other, be demonstrative if we’re changing a call, and that’s where those guys come in. They are really, really intelligent, can think on their feet, can solve problems. So, it’s a blessing that they’re back.”

— Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden on the return of graduate linebacker JD Bertrand and safety DJ Brown

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