Notre Dame takes down Miami (OH), 28-3
For a moment, it appeared Notre Dame was experiencing some serious deja vu Saturday with another MAC opponent in Miami (OH) walking into South Bend. Fortunately for the Irish, they snapped out of their bad dream this time to knock off the RedHawks, 28-3.
“The only thing that’s different between a win and a loss is the 24 hours before you get back together,” head coach Marcus Freeman said. “Our guys are going to celebrate … It’s hard to win, you can’t take any win for granted.”
A slow start mixed with a disastrous special teams performance had the Irish in a first-half battle with the RedHawks. Notre Dame was left searching in the dark for answers once again with a stagnant offense.
Riley Leonard flipped the light switch on when he needed to most with under two minutes to play in the second. Leonard got things moving with a 21-yard scramble to midfield and a 14-yard strike to Kris Mitchell over the middle, setting up the Irish at the Miami 36-yard line.
Then, after almost three-and-a-half games, Leonard finally answered Irish fans’ prayers, throwing a dime to Beaux Collins down the right sideline for his first passing touchdown as the signal caller at Notre Dame. The score put the Irish up 14-3 heading into the halftime locker room — definitely in a better position than they were in 14 days prior against NIU.
“We have a lot of confidence in (Leonard) making the right decision in the run game and the pass game,” Freeman said.
To kick off the second half, it seemed for the moment that Leonard and the Irish were getting ready to open the floodgates. A 43-yard gallop from the quarterback ended in disaster as the ball popped loose at the tail end and was recovered by Miami.
The Irish defense was able to spark things back up, thanks to Christian Gray. The sophomore defensive back snagged an over-the-shoulder interception to provide some much-needed energy in South Bend.
Notre Dame fed off that energy as Leonard led the offense down the field thanks to Mitchell drawing a pass interference on a deep post and Harrison taking a short catch in the flat for a 12-yard gain. Jeremiah Love heard his number called and finished off the drive, scampering up the middle for a 15-yard touchdown run, 21-3 Irish.
The Irish put the game on cruise control, but that didn’t stop Leonard from wanting to put an exclamation mark on his performance. The signal caller cut a run upfield and had nothing but green grass ahead for a 69-yard touchdown run. The play put Leonard at 143 yards rushing for the day.
Taking you back to the opening frame, Notre Dame was once again on the struggle bus against a MAC opponent.
A strong opening drive from the Irish defense forced the RedHawk offense back to the sideline — but not for long. Jordan Faison — returning after an injury against Texas A&M — muffed the punt return, and Miami recovered, putting the offense back on the field inside the red zone.
The Irish defense didn’t get rattled following the sudden change as Gray jumped a route, tipping the ball into the outstretched hands of Junior Tuihalamaka for his first career interception.
Notre Dame’s offense didn’t seem to carry over its dominant performance from last Saturday, as Leonard and company seemed out of sorts.
Its first three drives were straight out of a horror movie — and it’s not even October.
Leonard was taking sacks and sailing passes, and even the run game had trouble gaining traction. The scariest moment came when Mitch Jeter’s field goal attempt was unfoiled after a low snap and a bad hold forced Jeter to scramble and send the ball out of bounds.
“Can’t happen,” Freeman said. “We got to make sure we continue to attack those issues in practice.”
Miami’s Brett Gabbert capitalized on the short field to lead the RedHawks down into the red zone. A pass breakup from Benjamin Morrison on third-and-goal forced a successful field goal from Kellan McLaughlin.
After Notre Dame and Miami traded punts, the Irish finally got something going offensively. Leonard threw a pair of first-down strikes to Jayden Thomas and Mitchell Evans, moving the chains downfield for the first time all afternoon. The RedHawks helped the Irish get the ball into the red zone thanks to a defensive pass interference and a facemask penalty.
Leonard then used his signature legs to carry him into the end zone for his fourth rushing touchdown of the year, putting Notre Dame up 7-3.
Notre Dame will be back in action next Saturday in South Bend against Louisville with kickoff at 3:30 p.m.