SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Manti Te'o emerged from the tunnel, spun around with his arms open to the Notre Dame Stadium crowd and the Irish linebacker ran into a bear hug from his father near midfield. With that, the emotional pregame Senior Day festivities ended.
The celebration, however, raged on.
Everett Golson had three touchdown passes and Notre Dame posted a 38-0 win over hapless Wake Forest. The Irish demolished their visitors with 430 yards of first-half offense to ensure they will be 11-0 entering a showdown at USC next weekend.
Golson left in the third quarter after hitting 20-of-30 passes for a career-high 346 yards, with Cierre Wood rushing for 150 yards and the defense allowing Wake Forest just seven first downs and 155 total yards through three quarters.
That the day would be an afternoon-and-evening celebration was clear four plays into it. Wood burst through the Wake Forest defense for a 68-yard touchdown run, the longest rush of the season for the team, and it was 7-0 with the Irish just getting started.
A skull-rattling hit by Carlo Calabrese on the next series induced a Wake Forest fumble, with the Irish recovering and then driving to a two-yard Golson touchdown pass to Tyler Eifert and a 14-0 lead.
When Golson hit John Goodman for a 50-yard score on the next series, Notre Dame had a 21-0 lead after winning five home games by a total of 23 points before Saturday.
It was a rout, thoroughly, and not even an ill-advised Golson interception on the next series mattered. Wake Forest punted, and six plays after that, a terrific double-move from Irish receiver TJ Jones resulted in a 34-yard score and a 28-0 lead midway through the second quarter.
Kyle Brindza added a 25-yard field goal late in the first half for a 31-0 halftime edge, and George Atkinson III's 9-yard run made it a 38-0 game with three and a half minutes left in the third quarter.
bchamilton@tribune.com
Twitter @ChiTribHamilton
Notre Dame up 31-0 at halftime
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Notre Dame up 31-0 at halftime
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Notre Dame up 31-0 at halftime
