Notre Dame vs. Syracuse: Score and Twitter Reaction

Notre Dame continued its undefeated season with a 31-15 win over Syracuse at MetLife Stadium.

Everett Golson had an up-and-down day, finishing 33-of-40 for 363 yards, four touchdowns and a stretch of 26 straight completions. On the other hand, he also had four turnovers in a game that was closer than it should have been. The squad totaled 525 yards of offense, but it was the minus-four turnover differential that ensured the close score.

The good news is the defense took care of business and allowed just one touchdown against a quality opponent.

Orange quarterback Terrel Hunt had a solid effort in the loss, accumulating 294 yards and a rushing touchdown. Unfortunately, he was unable to move the ball consistently enough to pull off the upset.

When the game first started, all anyone wanted to talk about was the interesting Syracuse uniform:

ESPN's Robert Flores gave his impression:

This was also because there was not a lot of action in the early going as the two sides combined for a scoreless first quarter.

The big story in the first half was Golson's inability to hold onto the ball. Angelo Di Carlo of WNDU explained why this was a surprise:

He also added a third turnover in the first half when he fumbled an attempted spike. Fortunately, he was able to respond after the mistakes, leading an 11-play, 95-yard drive for the first score of the game.

National Football Post's Greg Gabriel described the strong possession for the young quarterback:

"

After throwing his 1st pick of the season, Golson hits 7 in a row leading Notre Dame to a 95 yard TD drive

— Greg Gabriel (@greggabe) September 28, 2014"

William Fuller scored his first touchdown on a screen pass that went for 23 yards, which he followed up with a 72-yard touchdown on the very next offensive play.

Ralph D. Russo of the Associated Press provided his thoughts after the Irish went up 14-0:

Syracuse was able to get a field goal before the end of the half to cut Notre Dame's lead to 14-3, but the squad was lucky to be in the game after being doubled in yardage at the break.

Notre Dame appeared ready to pull away when Hunt threw an interception in the first possession of the second half. The Irish were able to capitalize with a nine-play scoring drive capped with a fade pass to Corey Robinson in the end zone.

Rivals.com was impressed by the reception, which came despite pass interference by the defense:

Syracuse finally got into the end zone on a seven-yard scramble by Hunt, but it only took a few minutes for Notre Dame to answer with a Torii Hunter Jr. touchdown. This play also helped Golson tie a FBS record for consecutive completions, according to Notre Dame's John Heisler:

On the other hand, ESPN's Ivan Maisel questioned the impressiveness of the streak:

He made another bad mistake later in the fourth quarter when Durell Eskridge intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown to make the score 28-15. 

Still, the defense was able to take care of business from there to hold on for what eventually became a 31-15 win.

Golson has taken big strides this season, although this game featured both the good and the bad from the quarterback. Before the game, head coach Brian Kelly explained the difference between this year and when he last started in 2012, via Russo:

"

We really tried to find ways not to put him in difficult situations offensively [in 2012]. We controlled the game by running the football, play-action shots down the field, punting the football, that was probably the extent of our offense. This year, we've got to score points. So maturity, understanding of the offense and really putting him in that role to be a playmaker is the biggest difference from two years ago.

"

Even with the mistakes on Saturday, Golson continued to show his growth into one of the best quarterbacks in the country. 

His skills will be put to the test in the next game in the highly anticipated battle against Stanford. With the Cardinal having one of the top defenses in FBS, the entire Notre Dame offense will have to be at its best.

After facing a number of relatively weak opponents, this will be the first chance to see if this team can truly be a contender for the College Football Playoff. 

Syracuse will try to bounce back from its consecutive losses in a home game against Louisville on Saturday. It will be the first ACC game of the season for the Orange as they look to take one step closer to bowl eligibility.

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