Notre Dame's Offense Gaining Confidence By The Week

Notre Dame needed a deep ball connection and they got it. 

Riley Leonard hit Beaux Collins for a gorgeous 38-yard touchdown in the second quarter, and the play might give the offense the confidence it has lacked over the first four games of the year. 

“It was amazing just being able to see all the work we’ve put in all camp, all summer and things like that finally come to fruition, especially for a QB and receiver,” stated Collins. “Just confidence going forward. We know we can make plays like that. It’s just a matter of going and doing it. It was a big confidence booster for us.” 

For Leonard, the senior quarterback was much more aggressive in taking shots down the field on Saturday. He finished the game 16-of-25 for 154 yards and one score, but Miami was also called for multiple pass interference calls on deep shots. Leonard also added 143 yards and two touchdowns on the ground as he became the first Irish quarterback to have back-to-back 100-yard rushing games since Carlyle Holiday in 2001. 

Now, the offense isn’t going to be confused with one of the nation’s most explosive attacks, but there were signs of where it could go if Leonard stays aggressive and trust his teammates to go make a play. 

“I understand what this offense can evolve to and it’s my job to guide it in that direction,” explained Leonard. “Still figuring some things out, but I think every game we’re getting better at the things that we struggled with. With the deep ball, it gave me a lot of confidence knowing I can throw the ball down the field and something good happened the majority of the time we did that, whether it was a PI, guys making plays.” 

The touchdown to Collins was the highlight, but an incomplete pass on a slot fade might have been just as impactful for Leonard’s mental approach to attacking through the air. 

“One of the biggest things is I can underthrow a guy and he doesn’t always have to catch it, but the defender won’t,” stated Leonard. “I underthrew Jayden Harrison in the end zone. It might have been a pick, but he went up, made a play and dropped it at the end, but it gave me a lot of confidence. The deep ball is getting better. We just gotta sometimes stick to the basics and fundamentals.”

The resilience of the Irish offense when life isn’t going well has stuck to Collins, who is in his first year with the program after playing three seasons at Clemson. 

“We have mistakes we make, whether that’s OL, receivers dropping a pass, running back missing a read or something like that,” said Collins. “We just come back the next drive ready to go like that play never even happened. Reload well, which is something Coach Free instills in us. We just come back to play ball.”

Leonard echoed Collins’ statements as he believes the experience and maturity of the offense has allowed Notre Dame not to dwell on adversity. 

“I think we’re a pretty mature group all around,” Leonard stated. “There aren’t guys who are going to get too low or too high. I think I can do a better job of rounding those guys up, but I think, for the most part, we’re a mature group and everyone is feeling the same thing and let’s get back out there and try to prove it. Luckily, we don’t have any attitude problems on the sideline when things aren't going as expected.” 

Collins also got this first win inside Notre Dame Stadium, which was long overdue. 

“It feels amazing,” smiled Collins. “When I came up here a couple years ago on the other team, I didn’t get one, so it feels good to have the fans cheering and that. Being able to make plays for the guys - we’ve put in a lot of work and it just felt good doing that for my teammates.” 

Notre Dame will now turn the page to Louisville and the Irish will have revenge on their mind following last year’s disappointing loss. 

“It’s a big one,” said Collins. “Louisville is always going to bring their best. They are a team I have a lot of respect for growing up watching Lamar (Jackson) and all that. They bring in players just like we do here. They have good guys there who will come hard and play to the standard they have there. I feel like as long as we handled our business and execute, we’ll be just fine.” 

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