Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1526921
24 SEPT. 28, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT With Notre Dame struggling on both sides of the football during the early stages against Miami (Ohio), the turning point of this game came midway through the second quarter on an Irish 10-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that gave Notre Dame a 7-3 lead with 3:33 left in the first half. Trailing 3-0, Irish senior quarterback Riley Leon- ard capped the momentum-changing drive with an 8-yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame a scoreboard advantage that it never relinquished. The Irish coaches called on a good pass-rush balance on the drive and benefited from some critical Miami penalties to secure its first lead. The defense took over from there. Leonard was the catalyst on the scoring drive, throwing for 19 yards and rushing for another 13 yards, including the touchdown run. STATS OF THE GAME After a sluggish start for the Notre Dame of- fense, the Irish leaned on their running game over the last three quarters to bust things open against Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks won the rushing battle 44-23 in a scoreless first quarter — this, from a Miami team that entered the game ranked last nation- ally in ground production at only 32.0 yards per game — but Notre Dame took control from there. The Irish ground game piled up 247 yards dur- ing the last three quarters, an effort that included a trio of touchdown runs, one from sophomore tailback Jeremiyah Love and two from Leonard. The Irish won the overall yardage battle 428-229 and the rushing battle 270-110, and they also scored 14 points on their three red-zone pos- sessions compared to only 3 points off of three red-zone tries for Miami (Ohio). IDENTITY FOUND? If Notre Dame followers have learned anything from the first four games this season, it's that the value of Leonard at quarterback will come more on the ground than through the air, and the Irish leaned into that against Miami (Ohio) . The Duke transfer finished with a career-high 143 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 8 and 50 yards, his fifth and sixth ground scores this season. Bundle Leonard's groundwork with 60 rush- ing yards from Love and 39 yards from sopho- more Jadarian Price, and a ground-and-pound approach looks to be the emerging identity of this Irish offense through four games. Notre Dame also rushed for 362 yards in the 59-point rout of Purdue. The Irish have rushed for 632 yards on 80 carries the last two games, for an average of 7.9 yards per carry. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE WR BEAUX COLLINS The graduate transfer from Clemson recorded 4 catches for 60 yards, high- lighted by a 38-yard touchdown recep- tion in the second quarter that put Notre Dame up 14-3, a lead that was never challenged. Collins has become the go-to target for Leonard with a team-leading 16 catches and 176 yards so far this season. Against the RedHawks, he provided a needed spark to an Irish aerial attack that had been missing so far this season. QB RILEY LEONARD The Irish senior enjoyed the best game of his career, completing 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards with 1 touchdown and 0 interceptions, while adding a career-high 143 rushing yards with 2 touchdowns, one from 8 yards and the other from 50. While Leonard wasn't always on target with his passes, and he lost a fumble in the game, he avoided the ill-advised throws that cost Notre Dame points in previous outings. DE BOUBACAR TRAORE Starting in place of graduate student Jordan Botelho, who was lost for the season against Purdue with a knee in- jury, the sophomore was terrific against Miami (Ohio), recording 5 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 quarterback hurry and 1 forced fumble. Traore's performance came a week af- ter he replaced Botelho in the second quarter against Purdue and recorded 2 tackles, with 1 sack, 1 quarterback hurry, and his first career interception that he returned 34 yards for a touchdown. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Graduate student wide receiver Beaux Collins (right) scored his first career touchdown in a Fighting Irish uniform, a 38-yard connection with quarterback Riley Leonard. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER