Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 19, 2024 19 BY JACK SOBLE AND TYLER HORKA F or a brief moment, when Notre Dame clung to a 14-7 lead late in the second quarter, Pat Coogan was wide receiver No. 1. Coogan saw senior quarterback Riley Leonard's second-down pass deflect into his midsection, batted by a Stan- ford linebacker who sat on the run-pass option. He caught it at the Cardinal's 25-yard line, first contacted a defender at the 21 and barreled his way to the 16. The senior center dragged three would- be tacklers with him for a first down. "I see the ball, it's in the air and I grab it and run," Coogan said. "It was an in- stinctual thing that happened." It was that kind of day for the Irish, who would soon go up by two scores on a 5-yard bullet from Leonard to gradu- ate student wide receiver Kris Mitchell. They were not always perfect, but they made more than enough plays to get it done. Notre Dame beat Stanford 49-7 in South Bend, scoring 49 unanswered points after the Cardinal struck first. The Irish finally broke out their passing game and improved to 5-1. "I think [the receivers have] been open all year," Leonard said. "I haven't thrown it to them. I just threw them the ball today, pretty much. And look what happened." Leonard was the catalyst, putting to- gether his best passing day in a blue- and-gold uniform to date. The Duke transfer signal-caller com- pleted 16 of 22 throws for 229 yards with 3 touchdowns. Two of his scores came on run-pass options (RPOs), which Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock hammered to exploit Stanford's vulner- able pass defense. First, Leonard fired a 15-yard laser to senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas, giving Notre Dame a 14-7 lead it would not relinquish. He later hit Mitch- ell, marking the Florida International transfer's first score with the Irish. "The way their defense was struc- tured, we knew we'd have to take ad- vantage of that," Leonard said. "Noth- ing crazy, nothing rocket science, just simple RPOs. But when they're done and executed so often, you become very comfortable with it and execute it really well." Leonard capped off his prolific day with a third touchdown on play action to junior tight end Eli Raridon, set up by a 53-yard bomb to graduate student wide receiver Beaux Collins. He fired completions to nine different receivers, including Coogan. After enduring calls for his job throughout the first five weeks with the Irish, Leonard silenced his critics, at least for now. He tore through his pre- vious season high in yards per attempt, finishing with 10.4. He also doubled his season total in touchdown passes, moving to 6 through the air and 8 on the ground with a first-quarter rushing score. The Irish believed a performance like this was coming. Denbrock said earlier in the week that Leonard's growth and confidence on the practice field indi- cated it was time to "kick into gear." "The execution in practice has been really at a high level," Freeman said. "I just challenge them: 'If we execute in the game the way you guys have been doing it in practice, we'll recognize it, but a lot of people won't.'" Leonard recognized it. He also recog- nized the fans on the edge of the tunnel cheering his name as he left the field, as opposed to his backup's. He spent the fourth quarter donning a backward baseball cap, playing catch with sopho- more quarterback Kenny Minchey and showing off one-handed catches to the crowd's delight. "Mentally, I was beginning to have this carefree mindset," Leonard said. "I only got one opportunity for this, so we're gonna let the ball fly around." Notre Dame will hit the road next week for a matchup with Georgia Tech. The Irish will take on the Yellow Jackets at 3:30 p.m. ET at Mercedes-Benz Sta- dium in Atlanta, and they'll do so with their College Football Playoff goals well within reach. FIRST QUARTER NOTRE DAME 7, STANFORD 7 Top moment: On third-and-2 from its own 46, Notre Dame went to the air — not quarterback Riley Leonard's legs — for a 19-yard completion to wideout Jaden Greathouse. Leonard scored on the ground a handful of plays later to even the score at 7-7. Feature performer: Junior Jadar- ian Price was the Irish's go-to tailback in the first frame with 7 carries for 26 yards and 1 reception for 4 yards. Soph- omore Jeremiyah Love did not have a first-quarter touch. Notable stats: Notre Dame out- gained Stanford 89 to 73 in total yards. The Cardinal averaged 6.1 yards per play to the Irish's 4.9. The Irish possessed the ball for 8:19 to the Cardinal's 6:41. Items: A holding penalty and a sack prevented Notre Dame from doing any- thing on offense in the game's open- ing possession … Stanford opened the scoring with a 1-yard quarterback sneak at the end of a 9-play, 63-yard drive … Notre Dame's scoring drive spanned 12 plays and 75 yards. SECOND QUARTER NOTRE DAME 21, STANFORD 7 Top moment: Leonard executed a run-pass option with a brilliantly ac- curate touchdown pass from 15 yards to senior wide receiver Jayden Thomas to give the Irish a 14-7 lead. Feature performer: Leonard com- pleted 7 of 9 passes for 84 yards with AIRING IT OUT Riley Leonard, passing game break out while Notre Dame dispatches Stanford, 49-7 Leonard had his best game throwing the ball for the Fighting Irish, connecting on 16 of 22 passes for 229 yards with 3 touchdowns. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER