Entering Saturdays game at No. 16 Syracuse, Notre Dame had been an up and down football team through seven games. They left upstate New York on an upswing after a dominating 41-17 win. The Fighting Irish (5-3) moved to two games above .500 for the first time this season, while handing Syracuse (6-2) its second consecutive lo s. Two interceptions, a blocked punt and 246 rushing yards were the difference in a second straight win. Brandon Joseph stunned the JMA Wirele s Dome crowd on the games first play when he jumped in front of a Garrett Schrader slant pa s for his first interception in an Irish uniform. Joseph returned the pick 29 yards for a touchdown Cameron Clark Jersey and a 7-0 Notre Dame lead just :07 seconds into the game. It was just the second interception of the season for the Notre Dame defense and the fourth interception by Schrader in the last three games. Schrader and the Orange tied the score by going on a seven-play, 53-yard touchdown drive when they got the ball back. The drive started at the Orange 47 after a phantom face mask penalty on the kickoff on Ramon Henderson. Schrader capped it with a 13-yard strike to Oronde Gadsen II in the end zone to make it a 7-7 game. Notre Dames first offensive drive drove 54 yards in 12 plays, but stalled at the Orange 21. Blake Grupes mi sed 39-yard field goal kept the scored tied. The Quinnen Williams Jersey Irish went with an old school I-formation on the first two plays of the drive, with fullback Audric Estime gaining a combined nine yards on back to back runs. After forcing a pair of Syracuse 3-and-outs, the Fighting Irish offense a serted its will on its third po se sion of the day. Logan Diggs capped an 11-play, 55-yard march to pay dirt with a three-yard touchdown run. They ran the ball on all but two plays on the drive to take a 14-7 lead. The Irish defense forced four straight Orange punts and Notre Dame had the ball with 3:00 minutes to play in the first half, looking like they had a golden opportunity. But Drew Pyne stared down Michael Mayer on first down on a deep pa s down the middle of the field for an interception. The high pa s was tipped by Mayer into the arms of Syracuse safety JaHad Carter, who returned the ball to the Irish 42. The Notre Dame defense stiffened again and the Orange turned the ball over on downs. Notre Dame took over at its own 39 with 1:18 to play in the first half. They needed six plays to cover 61 yards for Pynes three-yard touchdown pa s to Jayden Thomas to give the Irish a 21-7 lead with :17 seconds to play in the half. The big play of the drive was a 37-yard pa s to Michael Mayer to move the ball to the Syracuse 14. The catch moved Mayer past Tyler Eifert as Notre Dames all-time receiving yardage leader. Eifert finished his prestigious Irish career with 1,840 yards. Notre Dame dominated the first half offensively. The Fighting Irish ran for 120 yards to Syracuses 38. Pyne was 8 of 14 for 105 yards, a touchdown and an interception. The Irish had 225 total yards to the Oranges 73. Schrader was 5 of 14 for 35 yards pa sing, while running back Sean Tucker had 11 carries for 42 yards. Schrader did not start the second half due to an undisclosed injury. He was replaced by freshman Carlos Del Rio-Wilson, who was 3 for 5 pa sing for 34 yards in three games Nathan Shepherd Jersey entering the day. Neither team scored on its first drive of the second half. The second Irish drive of the half started at the Syracuse 35 after a shanked punt by Max Von marburg. They pushed their lead after a 31-yard Grupe field goal to make it 24-7. An Andrew Szmyt 54-yard field goal for Syracuse made it a 24-10 game. The Irish went 3-and-out on their next drive. Drew Pyne was sacked by Jatius Geer on 3rd down. He was hit hard and was fortunate to hold onto the ball, but he was able to get up and walk to the sideline before Jon Sots fourth punt of the day. Syracuse zipped down field after starting with the ball at its own 33. Consecutive throws by Del Rio-Wilson of 23 and 30 yards, to Damien Alford and DMarcus Adams, respectively, moved the ball to the Irish four, when Tucker ran left for a touchdown to make it just a 24-17 game. The backup quarterback was 5 of 9 for 104 pa sing yards in the 3rd quarter. With Notre Dames offense bogged down, Syracuses next drive started at its own 25, but only lasted two plays when Marist Liufau intercepted a Del Rio-Wilson pa s. The ball was batted in the air at the line of scrimmage by Howard Cro s. The Irish started with the ball at their own 46 and charged to the end zone when Estime scored from 11 yards out. Chris Tyree started the drive with five straight runs for 17 yards. Pyne hit Deion Colzie on a crucial 3rd and 6 pa s for an 11-yard gain on the drive. It was Colzies third catch of the day Connor McGovern Jersey after he entered the game without a reception this season. The Estime touchdown came out of 14 (four tight end) personnel and made it 31-17 with 9:11 remaining. Scroll to ContinueThe Irish defense forced its fourth 3-and-out Orange po se sion and then the special teams came up big again. Clarence Lewis shot off the right side of the Irish line to block the punt. Its Notre Dames fifth blocked punt of the season and third in the last two games. Estime scored his second touchdown on a dive to the end zone from the two-yard line on the only play of the Irish drive to make it 38-17 with 7:47 on the clock. The Fighting Irish turned two interceptions and the blocked punt into 21 points. Estime left last weeks game against UNLV with three carries for 17 yards after his third fumble in three games. He churned out bruising yard after bruising yard with 20 carries for 123 yards and two touchdown runs. He never put the ball on the ground. Diggs ran the ball 20 times for 85 yards. Mayer led the Irish with three catches for 54 yards. With Notre Dame playing a prevent defense, Syracuse used eight plays to march 85 yards for its third touchdown of the day. Del Rio-Wilson hit Adams with a 13-yard pa s to complete the Tyler Conklin Jersey drive and make it a 38-24 game. An onside kick attempt was recovered by Mayer to give Notre dame the ball at the Syracuse 47 with 5:43 to play. The Irish drove to the two, but settled for a 20-yard Grupe field goal for a 41-24 lead. Pyne finished his day 9 for 19 for 116 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Notre Dames 246 rushing yards gave them their second straight game of 200 or more yards on the ground. Theyve done it in four of their last five games. Syracuse had just 61 yards on the ground. Tucker finished wi