In Notre Dame's second home game of the season, the Irish took on Miami (OH). And to be honest with you, I had serious déjà vu from the loss against Northern Illinois, especially to start the game! The Irish came out lethargic again, being dominated on both sides of the ball by the RedHawks.
Notre Dame was sloppy and couldn’t get anything going on offense, with a couple of three-and-outs in the first quarter. And don’t even get me started on the defense.
They made the statistically worst rushing team in the FBS look like they had Jim Brown in the backfield. Through their first two games, Miami (OH) averaged just 33 rushing yards. Yet, they ran for 110 yards against Notre Dame’s “stout” defensive line, which helped them open up the passing game for some big gains. Brett Gabbert hit two key passes—14 and 13 yards—on their field goal drive to go up 3-0 in the first half.
Notre Dame finally settled down late in the second quarter with back-to-back touchdown drives, an 8-yard TD run by Leonard, followed by his **first** passing touchdown of the season—a 38-yard strike to Beaux Collins—to make it 14-3 at halftime.
The second half was better on defense but a mixed bag on offense.
Notre Dame's secondary stepped up, making life tough for Gabbert, who couldn’t get much going downfield. Christian Gray provided the exclamation point with a big interception in the third quarter. The defense held Gabbert to just 113 yards passing for the game.
Offensively, though, Riley Leonard had his issues. He fumbled the ball to start the second half after a 43-yard scramble, and the Irish had a couple of drives stall out with punts. But they did manage to score two more touchdowns, including a 15-yard run by Jeremiah Love and a 50-yard run by Leonard, marking back-to-back games where Leonard topped 100 yards passing and rushing (154 passing, 143 rushing).
The final score was 28-3, Notre Dame. While it wasn’t pretty, the Irish showed they could overcome adversity mid-game—something they failed to do against Northern Illinois.
Now, I just hope they can keep the wins coming at home as ranked Louisville comes to town next week. There’s a lot of work to do before then if they want to defend their home turf!
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Main Takeaways
Four weeks into the season, and three things have become abundantly clear!
First, if Notre Dame joins a conference, it cannot be the MAC! After the whooping by Northern Illinois and this lackluster performance against Miami (OH), especially in the first half, it’s obvious the MAC has our number.
Second, the attention to detail and overall discipline of this team is lacking, especially against Group of Five teams. A muffed punt by Faison to start the game, a missed field goal due to a bad snap, and several personal fouls. The unsportsmanlike call on Shuler late in the first half was especially painful, giving Miami the ball back after Notre Dame had forced a three-and-out.
This has been Marcus Freeman’s Achilles’ heel as a head coach. The team always seems ready for big games but looks undisciplined and sluggish against opponents they should easily beat.
Lastly, Riley Leonard is *not* that guy! He’s not the quarterback who will take Notre Dame to the next level and lead us to the playoffs. Quick reminder: if Notre Dame wants any shot at being in the top 12, they have to win out the rest of the season. Leonard continues to look hesitant throwing the ball, like he doesn’t trust himself to make downfield throws. He missed several open looks, especially to tight ends Mitchell Evans and Cooper Flanagan, in the first half.
Yes, he finally connected with Beaux Collins for a 38-yard touchdown, but it was his first passing touchdown *four games into the season!* One touchdown pass in four games? That doesn’t cut it for the starting quarterback at Notre Dame.
His stats may look good on paper—back-to-back games with over 100 yards rushing and passing—but his performances have been shaky at best.
I’m officially over the Riley Leonard experiment. It’s time to see Steve Angeli behind center for the rest of the season. He has more control of the offense and can stretch defenses with his downfield passing capabilities.
Marcus Freeman and the coaching staff have some decisions to make, and I hope they don’t let NIL money dictate who starts at quarterback for the rest of the season!
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