Great Notre Dame defense, impressive Steve Angeli turn Sun Bowl into a rout of Oregon State

Sophomore quarterback Steve Angeli could not have played much closer to mistake-free football in his first career start. He began efficiently by directing Notre Dame to a touchdown on its first possession, a 96-yard drive to take a lead the Irish would never relinquish in the Sun Bowl against Oregon State on Friday.

A pair of Notre Dame running backs, sophomore Jadarian Price and freshman Jeremiyah Love, carried the load left in Audric Estimé’s absence, each scoring and quickly showing what the future of the Irish backfield looks like. And freshman receiver Jordan Faison capped his breakout season with a third-quarter touchdown to remove any lingering doubt that the Irish would top the No. 19 Beavers, then named the Sun Bowl MVP afterward.

But the credit for No. 16 Notre Dame’s easy postseason victory should largely go to the defense, shutting down Oregon State all afternoon in the 40-8 win. Thanks to a fourth-quarter safety, the Irish defense dented the scoreboard as many times as the Beavers offense did.

One of the best defenses in the country, Notre Dame (10-3) retained eight veteran starters for the bowl game, and that allowed some consistency to continue, consistency that should further into 2024 in the third year under defensive coordinator Al Golden and with at least five veteran starters returning next season.

Until halfway through the fourth quarter, when Golden started playing a bounty of defensive reserves, Oregon State managed exactly one snap beyond midfield, a snap gifted by Notre Dame playing some prevent defense immediately before halftime. The Irish logged four sacks and three more tackles for loss, costing the Beavers 31 yards, while hassling quarterback Ben Gulbranson on six more dropbacks.

Gulbranson played fine, but fine was all that Notre Dame was going to allow. His biggest completions came only when halftime was looming or those reserves littered the field, the Irish defense boosted statiscally by that second-quarter mirage, as well, as it ended with a Hail Mary intercepted by sophomore cornerback Benjamin Morrison.

Unanimous All-American safety Xavier Watts led Notre Dame with five tackles, possibly his final game in a gold helmet, a decision not yet known and one that could dramatically raise the Irish ceiling in 2024. He was matched by senior defensive end Jordan Botelho, despite the latter appearing to wrench his shoulder on a fourth-down sack of Gulbranson late in the third quarter. Botelho was named the Most Valuable Lineman of the Sun Bowl.

The suffocating and solid defense allowed Angeli time to find a groove, time he did not need out of the gates. The Irish first gained possession on their own four-yard line, gaining some breathing room and 11 yards via three rushes before Angeli connected with former walk-on Faison for a 55-yard gain. Five more rushes preceded Angeli throwing two straight passes to junior receiver Jayden Thomas, the first an incompletion and the second an eight-yard touchdown.

But Notre Dame’s second drive stalled when Angeli took a 12-yard sack on third down, a play where at worst he should have taken a shorter sack and at best he should have thrown the ball away. The loss of yards made a Spencer Shrader 50-yard field goal hook left. The third Irish drive then gained one first down before a punt.

And all the while, Oregon State went nowhere, nearly literally. When Price found the end zone just before halftime, it marked the point any Beavers’ urgency would need to become desperation, and that only played further into Golden’s design.

Golden’s constricting defense — an approach that derives from the complementary football, the defense giving the offense time to build a lead, and then the defense tightening its grip knowing the opposition has to chase points — handed Angeli and the offense two short fields, though the second came after an onsides kick (as mentioned before, desperation) and was led by current freshman quarterback Kenny Minchey.

Angeli finished 15-of-19 for 232 yards with three touchdowns, adding 47 yards on six rushes (sacks adjusted). Price had 106 yards on 13 carries, while Faison led all receivers with 115 yards on five catches.

SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
6:47 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jayden Thomas 8-yard pass from Steve Angeli. Spencer Shrader point after. Notre Dame 7, Oregon State 0. (11 plays, 96 yards, 6:09)

Second Quarter
0:27 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jadarian Price 1-yard rush. Shrader point after. sixme 14, Oregon State 0. (7 plays, 44 yards, 3:02)

Third Quarter
9:43 — Notre Dame field goal. Shrader 44 yards. Notre Dame 17, Oregon State 0. (8 plays, 49 yards, 5:17)
3:28 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jordan Faison 13-yard pass from Angeli. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 24, Oregon State 0. (8 plays, 60 yards, 4:19)

Fourth Quarter
11:24 — Notre Dame safety. Drayk Bowen and Josh Burnham tackle Isaiah Newell in the end zone. Notre Dame 26, Oregon State 0.
9:08 — Notre Dame touchdown. Jeremiyah Love 13-yard pass from Angeli. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 33, Oregon State 0. (3 plays, 72 yards, 1:40)
6:19 — Oregon State touchdown. Jimmy Valsin III 33-yard pass from Ben Gulbranson. Tyler Voltin rush for two points. Notre Dame 33, Oregon State 8. (6 plays, 71 yards, 2:42)
2:45 — Notre Dame touchdown. Chase Ketterer 6-yard rush. Shrader point after. Notre Dame 40, Oregon State 8. (6 plays, 40 yards, 3:32)

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