A late October game at Syracuse never was supposed to be an inflection point for Notre Dame in the program’s 1st season under coach Marcus Freeman.

It was the game the following week, at home against Clemson, that fans and players alike circled on the calendar in the dog days of summer.

Life, as it often does, had other plans, and so it was that after Notre Dame’s up-and-down, 4-3 start, the Fighting Irish arrived Saturday at the JMA Wireless Dome hoping to reclaim momentum for their 2022 campaign and hope for their future under Freeman with an upset road win against No. 16 Syracuse.

From the first play from scrimmage, an interception returned for a touchdown by Brandon Joseph, it was clear this was going to be a steely stand by a prideful Notre Dame team refusing to concede this was a lost season.

The Fighting Irish never trailed, and they ran away from Syracuse late, winning 41-24.

In between Joseph’s magical beginning and the celebratory end, Notre Dame got back to being what this Notre Dame team can be when it is at its best: a physical, powerful running team on offense and a squad that can lean on its outstanding defense to do the rest.

From its first offensive snap, a power trap to Audric Estime, who lined up at fullback with Chris Tyree behind him at running back, Notre Dame made no attempt to disguise what it intended to do Saturday afternoon. Knowing they were facing a smallish Syracuse defensive front that had played 90 snaps a week ago at No. 5 Clemson, the Fighting Irish elected to run north and south early and often, using a potent combination of Logan Diggs and Estime (20 carries each) to bully their way to 246 rushing yards on 56 attempts. Notre Dame’s longest run from scrimmage went for 28 yards, but even without a huge number of explosive plays on the ground, the Fighting Irish kept on schedule in the run game and got enough from Drew Pyne and the passing game to score 4 offensive touchdowns. They also sent a physical message, with runs like some delivered by Estime, that you’d better fit the power and counter and be ready to tackle if you play Notre Dame.

The game was especially redemptive for Estime, the back with the Jerome Bettis build who had been benched the prior 2 weeks because of fumbling issues. There were no fumbles Saturday, just 123 yards on 20 carries and 2 touchdowns, with the north-south runs often being through gaping holes, like the one created by both offensive coordinator Tommy Rees’ clever 14 personnel design (4 tight ends!) and a cleanout of a block from All-American candidate Jarrett Patterson.

Notre Dame’s run game was so efficient it could weather an afternoon on the road against a ranked opponent and top-20 defense when Pyne went just 9-for-19 for 116 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. During the 2nd half, Pyne completed just 1 pass, though that was a critical 3rd-down conversion with the outcome still in the balance. Pyne’s struggles, of course, also are a nod to the ceiling of this Notre Dame team, which might not be much higher than what we saw Saturday. Then again, after No. 2 Ohio State’s rally Saturday at No. 13 Penn State, the Fighting Irish still are the team closest to beating Ohio State this year, and if they can lead the Buckeyes for more than 30 minutes, why can’t they compete with No. 5 Clemson, which will visit sold-out Notre Dame Stadium next Saturday night?

Notre Dame’s defense certainly can play with Clemson.

The Fighting Irish limited Syracuse to just 286 yards of offense, the Orange’s season low under new offensive coordinator Robert Anae. Garrett Shrader, the Syracuse quarterback who has made such a huge leap under Anae, left the game with an injury, but even as his backup, Florida transfer Carlos Del Rio-Wilson extended plays with his legs, the Fighting Irish’s secondary held up, limiting Del Rio-Wilson to just 11 completions on 22 attempts and coming up with a huge interception to quell Syracuse’s momentum in what became a 1-score game during the 2nd half.

At the center of everything were Joseph, who allowed just 1 completion on 5 targets, in addition to his tone-setting interception return for a touchdown, and the increasingly unblockable Isaiah Foskey, who posted a 2nd consecutive game with multiple tackles for loss.

Foskey’s ability to command extra blockers also helped Notre Dame’s run defense, freeing up players to fit gaps and chase Sean Tucker, who the Fighting Irish limited to just 60 yards on 16 attempts. Syracuse managed just 2.4 yards per rush on the day, an accomplishment for any team visiting Syracuse but also a schematically promising omen as the Fighting Irish ready for a Clemson team that uses many of the same zone-read concepts as the Orange.

For coach Freeman, the game was about Notre Dame buying into the “identity we need to win.”

“It’s good to see all three phases for the most part, there was times we had some adversity, but all 3 phases be able to impact the game in a certain way,” Freeman said following the victory. “(Run-first) has been the plan since probably Cal. That’s our identity right now. Right now our identity is the ability to run the ball. And then when they give the opportunity to throw it, we’ll throw it.”

That worked Saturday, and you can bet it will be the formula when Clemson arrives in South Bend, Ind., next weekend.

In truth, it has to be.

The Fighting Irish aren’t explosive enough offensively to do anything different and while the secondary has been outstanding almost all season, if they don’t play great run defense, they have almost no margin for error.

But they know that now, and Saturday, they leaned into it in a huge moment and came up with this season’s best victory. Do that again next week, and maybe an even bigger win awaits.