QB Riley Leonard Shined When it Mattered for Notre Dame
Saturday night wasn’t the prettiest game of Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard’s career, but it was his biggest.
Notre Dame’s offense had struggled to move the ball with consistency for most of the night as Texas A&M’s defense had bottled up any type of scoring threat from the Irish. Junior running back Jadarian Price the biggest play of the night as he raced 47 yards to the house to put the Irish up 13-6 in the third quarter.
With the game tied at 13, Leonard shined the bright as he led the Irish 85 yards in eight plays to take the lead at 20-13 with 1:54 to play as Jeremiyah Love broke off a 21-yard touchdown run.
“It says we have a great defense,” stated Leonard. “They played great all night. We made it when it counts. The last drive, everyone had all the confidence in the world we would be able to go down there and score. It was just a matter of when. Finally, by the fourth quarter, we kind of got things going and that last drive meant a lot to us.”
Leonard finished his first game in the blue and gold, completing 18-of-30 passes for 158 yards, while rushing 12 times for 63 yards.
However, it was Leonard’s competitive drive and ability to will his team win in one of the most hostile environments in the country.
“It’s tough, especially in that environment,” explained Leonard. “That’s an environment I’m sure none of us have ever really played in before. The SEC is different. Coming out here in Texas is different. I remember looking up and trying to see the end of the stands and you literally can’t even see the top. Incredible place to play. Very grateful for the outcome.”
Perhaps the most impressive and significant stat of the day was the Irish didn’t commit a turnover while forcing two. It’s an important stat in any game, but playing on the road in a rowdy environment makes it all the more impressive, especially with the inexperience on the offensive line and new players who hadn’t played with each other in a game.
“When you have a good defense, you don’t have to put the ball in jeopardy, and you don’t have to play risky,” Leonard said. “At the same time, you want to score. It’s a tough game to play. A lot of the game, I do feel like we weren’t as aggressive. There weren’t any huge mistakes, but there were a lot of mistakes and a lot of them by me that I have to fix.
“At the end of the day, we’ll get that cleaned up in film and be just fine.”
The atmosphere inside Kyle Field was one challenge to deal with, but facing his former head coach, Mike Elko, was another. No one knows Leonard better than Elko, and the Texas A&M defense made life difficult for Leonard and the Irish offense at times.
“I feel like there was a game within the game,” said Leonard. “The third down packages are always big and he got me a few times with the protections. He drew up some really good stuff. I’ll have to go back and watch it.
“There’s that game within the game, the targeting penalty early in the game - it’s funny because we’re playing Notre Dame vs. A&M, but there is a rivalry there, so to speak. It’s all love at the end of the day, but we’re both competitive.”
The win was also a statement. Sure, Texas A&M isn’t Georgia or Ohio State, but it’s an SEC win on the road and it can provide a ton of confidence for a team with playoff aspirations.
“Shoot, we’re a gritty team and we embrace that,” said Leonard. “I think every game we go into, we know we’re going to fight our tail off to win. I think we have a lot of talent and that complements our hard work. If we can go into this environment and beat a team that’s coached as well as they are, it gives us all the confidence in the world to go into any environment in the country.”
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