first time since being sidelined again May 14. He had surg

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Notre Dame will count this as progress after a week of upheaval and adjustments for a beleaguered defense. They might have been only leprechaun-sized steps forward, but the Fighting Irish will take it.Notre Dame tightened up its tackling and held Syracuse to seven points in the second half, and DeShone Kizer made up for most of the Irishs ills with one of the best passing games in school history.Kizer threw for a career-best 471 yards and the Fighting Irish snapped a two-game losing streak by defeating Syracuse 50-33 Saturday.In the first game since coach Brian Kelly fired coordinator Brian VanGorder, the Irish (2-3) allowed more than 30 points for the fourth time this season and 489 yards to Syracuses up-tempo spread offense.I wasnt crazy about going against this offense. I much rather have been going against something a little bit different because of their tempo and how they spread you out and with all the freshman DBs that (we) play. Thats not always the greatest matchup, Kelly said. But I felt like the morale was really good on Wednesday and thats what I was looking to get back. The morale.The tackling on punt coverage still needs work. Syracuses Brisly Estime had a 74-yard return late in the first half that setup a touchdown and left Kelly fuming on the sideline. Estime added a 38-yard return.Kizer made it all OK for Notre Dame at MetLife Stadium.He connected on three touchdown passes -- two to Equanimeous St. Brown -- that covered at least 54 yards each and ran for a score. Kizer hit a rough patch at end of the first half when he took a 17-yard sack that knocked the Irish out of field goal range and threw an interception.Kelly said he told Kizer at halftime to stop trying to force big plays.When we went back out, relaxed up, took his words and ran with it, said Kizer, who threw for more yards in a victory than any quarterback in Notre Dame history.Eric Dungey passed for 363 yards and two touchdowns and ran for three scores for Syracuse (2-3).THE TAKEAWAYSyracuse: The Orange defense has already been shredded by Lamar Jackson and Louisville and now Kizer and Notre Dame. An in-season fix seems unlikely. The middle of the field always seems to be open against the Orange secondary.That is a very, very young defense, first-year Syracuse coach Dino Babers said. You have to give them time to grow up.FYI: Clemson and Deshaun Watson play the Orange on Nov. 5.Notre Dame: Kelly elevated Greg Hudson from analyst to coordinator and got more involved in the defense this week. Kelly kept his pledge to play more defensive players and make tweaks. The Irish mixed in some 3-4 alignments and their defensive backs changed techniques to better guard deep routes. Cornerback Luke Cole was moved to nickelback, lining up inside instead of out.There is still work to be done. The secondary, at times playing four freshmen, was porous and the front got little pressure. Positives: The Orange ran for only 3.4 yards per carry and the Irish did a solid job of tackling after the catch. Syracuse had 266 yards in the last three quarters.We need to continue to improve on tackling, defensive lineman Isaac Rochell said. I would say we did better, but we still left a lot out there.ONE FOR THE NEW GUYThe players picked Hudson to lead the singing of the alma mater after the win. They did it acapella since the band didnt make the trip.He put a lot of power in the position coaches hands and he put a lot of power in our hands as player and said, `Lets just come together as a family, safety Drue Tranquill said.TOUCHDOWN PER MINUTEThe first five minutes produced five touchdowns, one for each possession. Plus, Notre Dame had its second blocked PAT returned for a 2-point defensive conversion this season. The Irish did it against Texas, too. Jarron Jones got the block again and this time Cole picked up the bouncing ball and scored.Add it all up and it was 23-13 Irish with 10:06 left in the first quarter.They have a dynamic offense and when they come out its a big splash, Babers said.UP NEXTNotre Dame: The Fighting Irish make their first trip to North Carolina State.Syracuse: The Orange play at Wake Forest.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---AP college football coverage at www.collegefootball.ap.orgTommy Pham Jersey . In taking its goal tally to 99 in all competitions already this season, City delivered another demonstration of its lethal firepower at Etihad Stadium to set up a fourth-round match at home to another second-tier team -- Watford. Michael Perez Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. https://www.cheapraysonline.com/1366i-austin-pruitt-jersey-rays.html . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. Emilio Pagan Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Stitched Rays Jerseys .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious.CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians show no sign of letting up their dominance of the Detroit Tigers.Cleveland remained perfect in 11 games against Detroit this season with a 12-1 victory Tuesday night.The Indians have outscored the Tigers 77-24 in the season series. Cleveland leads Detroit by 7 1/2 games in the AL Central.Indians manager Terry Francona hasnt spent much time analyzing his teams eye-popping numbers against the Tigers.Once we process yesterday we move on, let alone a month ago or week ago, he said. You play the next game and try to win. If you do it good enough people start asking those kind of questions.Lonnie Chisenhall was 4 for 5 with three RBI while Carlos Santana and Tyler Naquin homered. Carlos Carrasco (5-2) allowed one run in six innings for Cleveland, which has won 13 straight at home.Francisco Lindor, named as a reserve to the AL All-Star team, had an RBI double and turned in two outstanding defensive plays for Cleveland.Weve been focused against everybody, weve just had a little more success against them, he said.Detroit manager Brad Ausmus believes theres a simple reason for his teams problems against Cleveland.Theres nothing baffling, he said. Its not like we havent played good baseball. Theyve just played better.Anibal Sanchez (5-9), who replaced the injured Jordan Zimmermann, allowed seven runs in 4 1/3 innings.Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was ejected in the sixth after grounding out. Cabrera, thinking the ball hit off his leg, never left the batters box and was called out at first. He was ejected when the umpires didnt reverse the call.Chisenhall had an RBI double in the fourth and run-scoring singles in the fifth and eighth. Naquin hit a leadoff homer in the sixth while Santana homered to begin the eighth, his team-leading 19th.Lindors first gem came with runners on first and second in the fifth. Second baseman Jason KKipnis fielded Jose Iglesias one-out grounder and threw to second for the force.dddddddddddd Lindor whirled and threw to third where Jose Ramirez tagged Steven Moya.As soon as the ball was hit I felt Moya starting to run, Lindor said. I didnt see him but as soon as I felt that I wasnt going to throw to first base.Lindor robbed Justin Upton of a hit in the sixth with a diving stop deep in the hole and a strong throw to first.Carrasco held Detroit to three hits and didnt allow a run until the sixth inning. The right-hander threw a four-hit shutout at Detroit on June 25 and struck out a season-high 14 against Toronto on Thursday.Sanchez was named the starter when Zimmermann was placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday with a strained neck.Cabrera was also named as a reserve to the All-Star Game. He was hitless in three at-bats before being ejected.Tigers third baseman Nick Castellanos, who homered Monday, was scratched because of flu-like symptoms.TAKING HIS CUTSIndians OF Michael Brantley took batting practice Tuesday for the first time since being sidelined again May 14. He had surgery for a torn right labrum in November and began the season on the DL. He returned to the DL after playing in 11 games.Im 100 percent healthy right now, he said. I bounce back great every day and am almost unrestricted in baseball activity.TRAINERS ROOMTigers: Zimmermann will visit a specialist about his neck injury. ... LHP Daniel Norris (strained right oblique) was placed on the 15-day DL on Tuesday.UP NEXTTigers: Rookie RHP Michael Fulmer (8-2, 2.17 ERA) has allowed one run or less in each of his last eight starts in which hes 6-1 with a 0.53 ERA.Indians: RHP Josh Tomlin (9-1, 3.21 ERA) has won all three starts against the Tigers this season. ' ' '