Audric Estime Puts Fumbles Behind In Dominant Notre Dame Win
Seven games into his sophomore season, Audric Estime had a problem he never had in his life. The bruising 227-pound running back had never fumbled before this year, but a first half fumble against UNLV was more than just a one-off. It was the third installment in a troubling trend.
Estime went to the bench after the UNLV fumble, which was his third in Notre Dame’s last four games, and he never returned to action. That benching left his status for Saturday’s game at No. 16 Syracuse in doubt, at least publicly. But the Irish staff didn't see things that way, and Estime bounced back in a big way to help lead his team to a 41-24 victory.
Head coach Marcus Freeman said early in the week that he had not lost faith in Estime and it showed in Saturday’s game plan. The first two play calls of the game were for Estime as the staff looked to not only show him they still believed in him, but it allowed the talented sophomore back to prove he was over the fumbling woes.
"I think that helped for sure, honestly,” Estime said of getting the ball in his hands early in the game. “Just to get the first carry just means a lot to me. It shows the trust Coach (Tommy) Rees and Coach Freeman and Coach Deland (McCullough) have in me. So I feel like that was just a big confidence booster.”
Those first two carries came with Estime playing fullback in an old school I-formation. He ran the ball out of more traditional sets the rest of the afternoon, finishing with a career-high 20 carries for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He locked the ball close to his body with both arms while repelling Syracuse defenders’ repeated attempts to strip it from him throughout the game.
"Really just be more mindful of it, really,” Estime said of his ball security focus. "Because the game of football is named after what I hold in my hand. So really, just be more mindful of it and just don’t take (it for granted), because literally it could come out at any time. So, I was just really being mindful of it and just sticking to the regular, honestly. So, no big changes, but I just had to keep in my mind just, no matter what, the ball comes first.”
Estime never put the ball despite Syracuse clearly trying to rip the ball out of his massive arms. A Notre Dame team that has lost the turnover battle more than it has won it this season claimed victory in turnovers against a Syracuse team that had forced 13 takeaways entering the game.
Notre Dame churned out 246 yards on 56 carries against the Orange. It’s their most rushing attempts in a game this season and the fourth time in the last five games the offense has rushed for at least 223 yards. The sophomore credits the Fighting Irish offensive line for their work to make them a dominant rushing offense.
"That’s just our pride,” Estime said of the physical mentality the Irish offense has taken on. "We’re just going to run at you. You guys, you’re going to have to stop us and if you’re not stopping us, we’re just going to do it until the game’s over.”
It certainly worked against Syracuse and played a major role in the victory.
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