Riley Leonard does it again — again. He continues to have games with multiple rushing touchdowns.
It’s starting to sound like a broken record, and it challenges our headline-writing ability/creativity, but once again quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] has a rushing touchdown for the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
That’s his second in tonight’s game against the Florida State Seminoles and 13 on the season by this author’s count.
Leonard’s 6-yard scamper caps off a 6-play, 38-yard drive that took 2:55 off the clock. It followed a [autotag]Jordan Clark[/autotag] interception.
Leonard had a 34-yard touchdown run to finish the Fighting Irish’s opening drive.
Notre Dame now leads the 1-8 Seminoles 28-3 late in the third quarter.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) leaps over Florida State defensive back Shyheim Brown (1) for a touchdown during a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Mitchell Evans has his first TD of the season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
[autotag]Mitchell Evan’s[/autotag] first touchdown of the season came at a very good time for the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
It looked like the Irish might have a drive stall before halftime against the Florida State Seminoles. Notre Dame appeared ready to attempt a FG, then took a timeout and decided to go for it on fourth down. A [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] pass to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] converted, but the Seminoles also had 12 men on the field and were penalized.
Leonard hit Evans for a 12-yard touchdown pass on the next play, ending a 12-play, 77-yard drive that took 1:31 off the clock.
Notre Dame leads the Seminoles 21-3 at the halftime break.
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY – OCTOBER 07: Mitchell Evans #88 of Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the Louisville Cardinals at L&N Stadium on October 07, 2023 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
The Irish have the lead. That’s the important thing.
Notre Dame is facing a Florida State team that has nothing to play for but pride the rest of the season. Opponents with nothing left to lose often are the most dangerous. Despite a 7-3 Irish lead after the first quarter, the Seminoles have shown they won’t be pushovers.
The Irish needed only 103 seconds to get the scoring going. The middle of their first drive featuring a 28-yard completion from [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] to [autotag]Aneyas Williams[/autotag]. It culminated with Leonard running 34 years for the game’s first touchdown.
The Seminoles’ first possession took almost half the quarter, though that was helped by an Irish defensive penalty on fourth down. Though the Seminoles got to the Irish 4-yard line, they only could muster a Ryan Fitzgerald chip-shot field goal to get them on the board.
After that, there was a whole lot of nothing with four consecutive three-and-outs, two apiece for the teams. [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag] broke that streak with a first-down run in the final minute. He did so without [autotag]Anthonie Knapp,[/autotag] the Irish’s starting left tackle who went to the bench with a currently undisclosed injury during the quarter.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Notre Dame gets on the board to start the game thanks to a Riley Leonard leap.
No. 10 Notre Dame is hosting Florida State in South Bend tonight, and despite the Seminoles’ 1-8 start, FSU has the talent that would be needed for an upset.
Fighting Irish quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] is doing his part early to make sure that doesn’t happen.
Leonard ran the ball in from 34 yards out to cap off a 5-play, 75-yard opening drive. Leonard hurdled a defender to get into the end zone to finish the drive, which took 1:43 off the clock.
Slow starts, especially against perceived lesser opponents, have been an issue for the Irish all season, but opening this game with a touchdown goes a long way to alleviating that issue.
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) carries the ball during the first half against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Notre Dame landed 10th in the latest College Football Rankings. Here’s a playoff picture for the Fighting Irish.
The No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been clinging to playoff hopes ever since losing to Northern Illinois in their second game of the season. So far they’ve won every other game and worked themselves back into the College Football Playoff conversation.
Improved play from quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] and a stout rushing attack from [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] and [autotag]Jadarian Price[/autotag], plus continued high-level play from a dominant defense, have kept the Irish in the playoff race. Now we know where they stand as the first official bracket has come out.
College Football Playoff bracket: Who’s in, who’s out
Notre Dame is, as of the first projected College Football Playoff bracket, forecast to be number 10 in the bracket.
Key teams that are currently out include SMU, Texas A&M, and LSU.
Notre Dame is projected to play on the road, visiting the Penn State Nittany Lions.
How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?
For the first time, there will be 12 teams participating in the College Football Playoffs. There are five automatic bids for each of the Power Four conference champions and one to the highest-ranked Group of Five champion. The remaining seven slots are given to the seven at-large teams.
When next College Football Playoff rankings come out
Tuesday, Nov. 12: 8:30 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Nov. 19: 7 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Nov. 26: 8 p.m. ET
Tuesday, Dec. 3: 7 p.m. ET
Sunday, Dec. 8: Noon ET
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore (15) intercepts a pass intended for Navy Midshipmen running back Eli Heidenreich (22) in front of linebacker Jack Kiser (24) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Leonard has been on a heater over the last 6 games
It wasn’t the best start of a Notre Dame football career for transfer quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag].
Not only was he starting off with a new team this fall, he along with the rest of the offense was learning how to operate within offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s playbook. While he completed over 60% of his attempts during the first two weeks, he didn’t throw for a touchdown and had two interceptions. Each of those games also didn’t see him pass the 175-yard passing mark.
Fortunately for the Irish, it didn’t take long for Leonard to get acclimated, as Pro Football Focus has pointed out that the senior has been one of the highest graded quarterbacks since Week 3. Over that time, he’s completed 68.3% of his passes for 1,039-yards with a touchdown to interception ratio of 8-to-1.
It’s not just about throwing the ball with Leonard, as in that same time frame he’s rushed for 460-yards with 10 touchdowns. Those are extremely impressive numbers, which has seen Notre Dame win every one of those games.
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) throws the ball during the first half against the Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
As long a Leonard continues this progression, which I noted after the Navy victory, the Irish offense has become much more difficult to stop.
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
The list in total was 35 players with some big names like Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, Ohio State’s Will Howard, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe.
It’s a stacked field that Leonard will have to contend with, but if he continues to play like he has over the last few weeks, there is a chance.
There will be another cut to the list, which will trim it down to 16 semifinalists. The winner will be selected by a national committee along with a Fan Vote. So make sure you log onto Facebook, Instagram or X, the website formerly known as Twitter if Leonard makes it to the next stage.
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) warms up before the game Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
With the NCAA college football season already passing the unofficial midway point, many outlets including On3 have been compiling its Heisman Trophy contenders list.
For the first few weeks of the season, Notre Dame quarterback [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] didn’t perform up to expectations, but then the light switch turned on. Over the course of the last 6 games, all wins for the Irish, the starter has turned the corner and played at an extremely high level.
While it was surprising to see Leonard on On3’s contender list, as he came in tied at No. 9, it is still an encouraging sign that he is moving in the right direction.
On the season, he’s completing 66.2% of his attempts for 1,360 yards with 8 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. He’s been great running the ball as well, as Leonard has carried the ball 85 times for 539 yards with 11 touchdowns.
While the numbers alone aren’t impressive, what stands out are his total stats, as Leonard is currently No. 10 in scoring, No. 8 if you exclude kickers. Many were calling for a change earlier in the season, or at least to see what backup Steve Angeli could do, but clearly the Notre Dame coaching staff knew what they were doing all along.
Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes and opinions.
Notre Dame strikes first against Navy thanks to quarterback Riley Leonard.
No. 12 Notre Dame got off to a good start against No. 24 Navy at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, thanks once again to quarterback Riley Leonard’s legs.
Leonard capped off a 9-play, 75-yard opening drive that took 4:32 off the clock with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The biggest play on the drive was a blitz-beating 42-yard toss to wide receiver Jaden Greathouse on third and 6.
That kept the drive alive and got Notre Dame into the red zone. Four plays later, Leonard found the end zone on the quarterback run.
Notre Dame has started slow recently, but this opening drive was balanced, and with the exception of one tackle for loss, the Irish moved the ball effectively.
Oct 26, 2024; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) warms up before the game Navy Midshipmen at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard uses his legs again.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard really does use his legs as a weapon.
He’s now accounted for both of Notre Dame’s first two touchdowns against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets as he pulled the ball back on a run-pass option and scampered for a 12-yard touchdown to give the Fighting Irish a 14-7 lead.
Leonard’s run finished off a 5-play, 68-yard drive that took 2:51 off the clock.
Notre Dame looks a lot more settled after a first quarter in which the Fighting Irish struggled on both sides of the football.
While Leonard had the touchdown run, Beaux Collins had two key catches of 11 yards and Kris Mitchell and Jeremiyah Love each had big receptions — 14 yards for Mitchell and Love for 25. Love showed running ability after the catch.
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) speaks during a post game interview at Kyle Field against the Texas A&M Aggies. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports
Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.
