Notre Dame football running back Jeremiyah Love turned history night into a nervous one for Fighting Irish fans. Love left Saturday’s game against Stanford football with an apparent injury to his midsection, according to On3 reporter Brett McMurphy, after taking a hit that sent him to the sideline for evaluation. He walked off under his own power, but his return remained unclear as the game rolled on.
Before the scare, Love did what he usually does, putting Notre Dame football on his back and in the record book. The junior star hammered Stanford on the opening drive and punched in a 2-yard score, his 21st touchdown of the season, breaking Jerome Bettis’ single-season program record.
By late in the first quarter, Notre Dame had built a 14-0 lead, and Jeremiyah Love had already logged 9 carries for 58 yards and that record-setting touchdown, per the ESPN box score. It looked like the start of another Heisman-resume night in a primetime spot with the College Football Playoff selection show looming.
This is the version of Jeremiyah Love Notre Dame has ridden all year. He entered the regular-season finale with 1,306 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, plus 274 receiving yards and three more scores, giving him 20 total TDs and a firm place in the Heisman Trophy conversation.
The concern ramps up because this is not Love’s first health scare. He has fought through knee issues and even played through a combination of leg injury and illness during last season’s College Football Playoff run, yet still produced some of Notre Dame’s biggest explosive plays.
For now, all Notre Dame can do is lean on its depth, try to finish off Stanford, and hope the latest issue is more precaution than problem. But any extended absence for Jeremiyah Love would cast a shadow over both the Irish’s postseason hopes and one of the sport’s best individual seasons.
