Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1528160
18 OCT. 26, 2024 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER HORKA AND JACK SOBLE I f you were a Notre Dame fan at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, of which there were plenty to rival or even exceed the turnout of the Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech faithful, and you were at all miffed or maddened by the Fighting Irish's slow start against the Yellow Jackets, well, you shouldn't have been. Apparently you missed the memo. Slow starts are what this team does. T h i s tea m a l so d o e s re so u n d i n g responses, and that's the script the Irish followed yet again in a 31-13 vic- tory. Georgia Tech opened the scoring with a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter, marking the fourth straight game the Irish's foe struck first, then Notre Dame (6-1) answered with 31 consecutive points to put an insurmountable Irish imprint on the afternoon. "This group just continues to be- lieve," head coach Marcus Freeman said. Subdued silence from the north side of the stadium was eventually replaced by chants of "Let's Go Irish!" Like their Yellow Jackets on the field in front of them, home fans who hollered "O-ver- ra-ted!" at the Irish before the game even kicked off ultimately had no an- swer for them. Notre Dame was simply too much on the turf and in the red- and-black seats at the home of the At- lanta Falcons. As has generally been the case in Notre Dame's better games this season, senior quarterback Riley Leonard was at the forefront. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 203 yards while running 10 times for 51 yards and 2 touchdowns, his ninth and 10th scores of the sea- son, to become the third quarterback in Irish history to hit double digits in a single season. He's been a catalyst for the Irish ever since the team's Week 2 loss to Northern Illinois. "We're expected to go win every sin- gle ballgame," Leonard said. "And this team, as the year goes on, knows how to win and has a lot of confidence that we can win." Leonard overcame an interception in the end zone on Notre Dame's second offensive possession to turn in one of his most productive performances of the year. Tailbacks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price aided in his efforts, as they do, with 14 carries for 36 yards and 3 catches for 57 more yards for Love, and 8 carries for 69 yards for Price. Love scored the 1-yard touch- down that put the Irish up 21-7 early in the third quarter, a commanding lead knowing how well the Notre Dame de- fense was playing. Really well. After a 13-play, 71-yard touchdown drive, the Georgia Tech offense was held to three punts, two failed field goal at- tempts, a turnover on downs and two interceptions on its ensuing eight pos- sessions. That's been a theme for de- fensive coordinator Al Golden's unit this season, too; his side of the ball has made it too easy for opponents at times in the first halves of games, but it tends to tighten up and make churning out yards increasingly difficult as games go along. "It's definitely crazy to see how we make adjustments," said freshman cor- ner Leonard Moore, who made his sec- ond career start. Twice Notre Dame got stingy in or near the red zone to force short Georgia Tech (5-3) field goal tries. Twice, the Irish gave up zero points in those situ- ations. The Yellow Jackets mishandled the hold on the first attempt, and fresh- man phenom Bryce Young blocked the second. After a clinical opening possession of the second half for the Notre Dame offense, meanwhile, it took a sophisti- cated fake punt for the Irish to put any more points on the board thereafter. If not for the successful fake, which was STICKING TO THE SCRIPT Notre Dame starts slow, finishes strong again in beating Georgia Tech, 31-13 Junior running back Jadarian Price led the way for Notre Dame's balanced rushing attack with 8 carries for 69 yards. The Fighting Irish outrushed Yellow Jackets 168-64. PHOTO BY MATT RUDOLPH