Tag: Riley Leonard

Tale of the Tape: Notre Dame offense vs. Army defense

The Irish have their work cut out for them on this side of the ball.

A common criticism by Notre Dame fans this season is that their team’s offense isn’t up to snuff with the best in college football. While the numbers don’t necessarily support that theory, at least when it comes to running and scoring, Irish fans have pushed it all the same.

Fans particularly have criticized [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] for acting more like a running back than the gun-slinging quarterback they so desire. Never mind that Leonard has played very well lately.

If the Irish are to be exposed as a run-first offense, Army might be the opponent to do just that. The Knights are highly ranked in most defensive categories and even tied with Ohio State with the fewest points surrendered in the country.

Granted, the Knights haven’t played a ranked opponent all season, and the Irish will break that streak. Still, it’s something the Irish will need to keep an eye on as they prepare for this game.

Here’s how the Irish’s offense compares to the Knights’ defense nationally:

Notre Dame vs. Virginia: Third-Quarter Analysis

It’s all academic from here.

(This story has been updated with a new photo.)

Based on how dominant Notre Dame was in the first half against Virginia, it was somewhat understandable if they chose to relax. That was evidenced by the fact that the first drive of the second half ended with [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] throwing an interception. But the third quarter still ended with a 35-7 Irish lead.

The Cavaliers opted to replace Anthony Colandrea with backup quarterback Tony Muskett, whose first series was a three-and-out. [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] then had a 76-yard touchdown run on the Irish’s next drive. However, Muskett responded with an 18-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-1 to get the Cavaliers on the scoreboard. Both scoring drives last less than two minutes.

When the third quarter ran out, the Irish were on the verge of putting more points on the scoreboard with a third-and-goal. With a huge lead though, they were in no hurry to find the end zone again. It seems inevitable though.

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Notre Dame Week 12 highlight: Mitchell Evans jumps it in

Notre Dame’s Mitchell Evans cashed in a turnover.

No. 8 Notre Dame spent the end of the first half taking the ball away from the Virginia Cavaliers, and the Fighting Irish also scored off of those turnovers.

After [autotag]Leonard Moore [/autotag] took the ball away from Virginia, tight [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] caught a pass from Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] and dove into the end zone for a 16-yard score.

That capped a 3-play, 32-yard drive that took 34 seconds off the clock.

The touchdown gave the Irish a 28-0 lead late in the second quarter.

Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) scores a touchdown against Florida State Seminoles linebacker Omar Graham Jr. (9) in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Week 12 highlight: Cooper Flanagan finishes the drive

Notre Dame cashed right away after a turnover.

You’d think that with the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish having first-and-goal at the Virginia Cavaliers’ 2-yard line, the Irish would choose to have quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] run it in.

Instead, Leonard pulled the ball away from a handoff and found a wide-open [autotag]Cooper Flanagan[/autotag]. The tight end easily hauled the pass in to finish the 1-play, 2-yard drive

Notre Dame’s offense started slow against Virginia, but it is taking advantage of Cavalier turnovers to get itself going.

The touchdown, for example, came after a Notre Dame interception.

Notre Dame didn't stop in the second half against Purdue.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Cooper Flanagan (87) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Kevin Bauman (84) celebrates in front of Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Dillon Thieneman (31) after a Notre Dame Fighting Irish touchdown Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7.

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Notre Dame vs. Virginia: Second-Quarter Analysis

This quarter lasted over an hour and was quite crazy.

If you were hoping for more action between Notre Dame and Virginia in the second quarter, you would have gotten some. In a quarter that lasted over an hour in real time, the Irish had one crazy moment after another, and it ended with them holding a 28-0 halftime lead.

Both teams continued to struggle offensively for the first few minutes. After [autotag]Max Hurleman[/autotag] muffed a punt and the Cavaliers recovered, the Irish’s 7-0 lead appeared to be in jeopardy. But the Irish took the ball right back a few plays later when [autotag]Rod Heard II[/autotag] forced a Kobe Pace fumble that was recovered by [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].

The difference between the two turnovers is that the Irish took advantage. Their offense had its most productive drive of the day, and it culminated when [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] hit [autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] for an 8-yard touchdown.

On the next possession, Leonard fired another apparent touchdown pass to Harrison from 78 yards out, but it was wiped out when [autotag]Pat Coogan[/autotag] was penalized for illegal hands to the face.

Another apparent touchdown then was wiped out after a very confusing sequence. Faced with fourth-and-11, the Irish opted to fake a punt and try a fumblerooski, and [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] ran the ball 73 yards to the house. However, the officials called it back for illegal formation, much to the chagrin of the Notre Dame Stadium fans and the NBC announcers.

But that touchdown was dying to be scored, and it finally was after [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag] returned an interception 46 yards and Leonard immediately faked a handoff before firing to an open [autotag]Cooper Flanagan[/autotag] in the end zone from 2 yards out.

The Irish weren’t finished though. Anthony Colandrea threw another interception, this one to [autotag]Leonard Moore[/autotag]. On the final of three subsequent passes, [autotag]Mitchell Evans[/autotag] had a 16-yard touchdown.

Colandrea kept feeling generous though because Watts picked off another one of his passes in the waning seconds of the quarter. Although [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] missed a 54-yard field goal as time expired, the Irish still deserved a rest in the locker room after everything that had just happened.

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Notre Dame Week 12 highlight: Adon Shuler steals it away

Notre Dame gets a big pick from Adon Shuler

It’s been a wild few minutes at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend.

The No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are hosting the Virginia Cavaliers on Senior Day and the final few minutes of the first half have been bonkers.

It started with Notre Dame having a long touchdown pass from quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] to wide receiver [autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag] coming back on a penalty. Then Notre Dame appeared to perfectly execute a fake punt for a touchdown with wide receiver [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] running it in. But that came back on an illegal formation penalty and the Irish punted for real.

Virginia quarterback Anthony Colandrea then threw an interception to Notre Dame safety [autotag]Adon Shuler[/autotag], who returned it to the Virginia 2-yard line.

We’re in for a frantic finish to the first half in South Bend.

Adon Shuler had a big play early against Navy.
Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Adon Shuler (8) walks off the field before a game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Week 12 highlight — fumble recovery leads to touchdown

Notre Dame converts after the Xavier Watts fumble recovery.

After a slow start, No. 8 Notre Dame’s offense may have gotten untracked against the Virginia Cavaliers following a fumble recovery by [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag].

The Fighting Irish moved the ball 88 yards over 9 plays, taking 3:42 off the clock. The drive was capped off by an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] to wide receiver [autotag]Jayden Harrison[/autotag].

The touchdown has given the Irish a 14-0 lead against Virginia late in the first half on Senior Day in South Bend.

Notre Dame wide receiver Jayden Harrison (2) catches a pass in warm up before a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

A perfect end to a perfect night.

It officially became a blowout when [autotag]Marcus Freeman[/autotag] called off the dogs. But even that wasn’t enough to keep Notre Dame from continuing to dominate as a curtain call to a 52-3 victory over Florida State.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] completed a 26-yard pass to Jaden Greathouse, then handed it off to [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] for a 1-yard touchdown run.

When the Irish’s offense retook the field after another Seminoles three-and-out, which featured a [autotag]Junior Tuihalamaka[/autotag] sack, [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag] took over at quarterback. Even he got in on the scoring action when he threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to [autotag]Deion Colzie[/autotag].

As a final humiliation for the Seminoles, [autotag]Luke Talich[/autotag] intercepted Brock Glenn and returned the ball 79 yards for the game’s final touchdown and the first score of his collegiate career with 1:23 remaining. It was so unnecessary and yet so beautiful to see, especially with the Seminoles on the verge of scoring for the first time since the first quarter.

Irish fans were right to be cautious about this game because it had all the makings of a trap game. But the Seminoles came in with an offense that proved to be as putrid as advertised, and they now have the most losses of any preseason top-10 team.

Meanwhile, the Irish still have a College Football Playoff dream to chase. They have all the makings of a team that belongs there.

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Notre Dame Week 11 highlight — Jeremiyah Love gets in on the act

Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love keeps his TD streak alive.

(This story was updated to correct a misspelling/typo.)

Despite No. 10 Notre Dame blowing out the Florida State Seminoles tonight, Fighting Irish running back [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] has been relatively quiet.

Sure, his fellow running back [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] has a rushing touchdown and quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] has two. Love had under 10 carries when took the ball in for a rushing touchdown in his ninth consecutive game.

The 1-yard touchdown run followed a 26-yard catch by [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag] and ended a 7-play, 65-yard drive that took 3:51 off the clock.

Notre Dame leads the Seminoles 38-3 as it looks for a statement win.

Jeremiyah Love had a 64-yard touchdown run against Navy.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love (4) runs the ball down the sideline on his way to score a touchdown during a NCAA college football game between Notre Dame and Stanford at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in South Bend.

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Notre Dame vs. Florida State: Third-Quarter Analysis

One quarter to go.

The third quarter has featured Notre Dame really laying the hammer down on a Florida State team that already was struggling. And it has happened on both sides of the ball, hence their 31-3 lead.

[autotag]Rylie Mills[/autotag] recorded his career-high third sack on Brock Glenn, who responded by promptly throwing an interception to [autotag]Jordan Clark[/autotag], his first with the Irish. The offense took advantage of starting at the Seminoles’ 35-yard line by reaching the end zone in six plays. That happened when [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] ran for his second touchdown, this one from 6 yards out.

When the Seminoles got the ball back, Luke Kromenhoek replaced Glenn as quarterback. The result was them finally put together another decent drive, even converting on a third down. Though they advanced as far as the Irish 27, Kromenhoek was sacked twice on the final series, including on a fourth-and-12.

Though the Irish got some help with a roughing the passer call and ended up at the 6, Leonard couldn’t finish off the drive with a touchdown, either by him running it in or throwing it to a receiver. At least [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] kicked a 28-yard field goal, his first of the game.

The Irish have this game well in hand with the Seminoles presenting absolutely no threat.

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