Oregon State vs. Notre Dame game balls
Playing the 2023 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl on Friday with a completely revamped lineup on offense because of opt-outs, transfers and early player departures to the NFL Draft, No. 16 Notre Dame still managed a 40-8 win over No. 19 Oregon State in El Paso, Texas.
The 32-point Irish rout provided plenty of options to pass along game balls. Here are the three most deserving.
Quarterback Steve Angeli
Making his first career start, the Irish sophomore managed the game well and efficiently finished 14-of-18 passing for 212 yards with 3 touchdowns, an 8-yarder to junior wide receiver Jayden Thomas, his second on a 13-yarder to freshman wideout Jordan Faison, and his third on a 13-yard connection with freshman running back Jeremiyah Love.
Angeli also added a 17-yard run in the third quarter on a 2nd-and-15 that gave Notre Dame a first down and kept a touchdown drive alive.
Wide receiver Jordan Faison
With Notre Dame playing without its four top pass catchers during the regular season, the Irish freshman enjoyed the best game of his young career with 5 catches for 115 yards, including a 13-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter that pushed the Irish lead to 24-0, and lifted Faison to Sun Bowl MVP honors.
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Faison’s fine day was also highlighted by a nifty 33-yard over-the-shoulder catch in the third quarter, and a 55-yard reception that set up an Irish touchdown in the first quarter.
Faison entered the game with 14 catches for 207 yards with 3 touchdowns.
The Notre Dame defense
The fact that no one particular Irish defensive player stood on the stat sheet speaks volumes to what a terrific collective effort this unit put together in the dominating rout.
Senior safety Xavier Watts and senior lineman Jordan Botelho led the Irish with only 5 tackles apiece.
Botelho added 1 sack and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Graduate defensive linemen Howard Cross III and Javontae Jean-Baptiste both added 2 tackles and 1 sack.
With 3 tackles and 0.5 sacks, Irish graduate linebacker Jack Kiser also enjoyed a fine game to cap his 2023 season.
