Notre Dame cruises past Florida State, 52-3
Nobody has had a harder fall from grace than Florida State.
The Seminoles still haven’t reached rock bottom, either, falling to Notre Dame 52-3 on Saturday night.
“Proud of those guys, proud of the way they prepared,” head coach Marcus Freeman said. “It could have been easy to overlook those guys in terms of preparation because of their record. I truly believe in my heart Saturday is a reflection of preparation.”
Deep in their own zone with under two minutes until halftime, the Irish were still searching. They had bursts of success but mixed in a couple of three-and-outs, and it was still a 14-3 game in which Notre Dame was a 22-point favorite.
It appeared as if another drive had stalled, as kicker Mitch Jeter trotted out to attempt a lengthy field goal. But when Florida State head coach Mike Norvell called a timeout to try to ice the kick, Freeman changed his mind. After the break, quarterback Riley Leonard and the offense came back out, catching the Seminoles off guard as Leonard found Jordan Faison for a 22-yard pass up the middle.
Leonard followed up his fourth-down strike with a perfect pass that found a fading Mitchell Evans in the back of the end zone for his first score of the season. Notre Dame went into the halftime locker room up 21-3 with the defense rolling against a struggling Seminole offense.
“You can’t look at the score,” Freeman said. “It's a privilege to play in this place … it’s a privilege to play for this university. Our crowd was really special. It’s a little different, a night game at Notre Dame stadium.”
The Irish defense carried over their dominant performance into the second half. Rylie Mills used a quick burst to get off the line and wrap up quarterback Brock Glenn for his third sack of the game. With 16 yards needed for a first down, Glenn pushed too hard, and Jordan Clark perfectly read the pass for his first interception of the year.
“You got to be strong up the middle,” Freeman said. “Rylie got some individual glory today. But a lot of people contributed to Rylie getting those sacks. When you play well and things go your way you are going to be recognized.”
Leonard didn’t waste the field position, hitting Jaden Greathouse on a screen that went for 20 yards to the Seminoles’ 10-yard line. The quarterback walked into the end zone on the next play for a six-yard touchdown.
The Seminoles finally seemed to find some success as Samuel Singleton Jr. caught the defense off guard, exploding up the middle for a 27-yard gain. But any momentum soon disappeared as Donovan Hinish picked up his second sack of the game, and Jaylen Sneed forced a turnover on downs with a fourth-down sack.
After starting the game 10-for-21, Leonard placed a perfect back-shoulder fade to Jayden Harrison for 26 yards. After the throw, Florida State’s Earl Leonard Jr. hit Leonard high and cost the Seminoles another 15 yards. Following the roughing-the-passer penalty, Notre Dame found itself in the red zone, but the drive stalled after a sack and an incompletion that tipped off Faison’s hands in the end zone. Jeter knocked in the field goal to extend the lead to 31-3.
On the next Irish drive, Jeremiyah Love flashed his hands, making a juggling catch for 13 yards. Greathouse stayed involved in the offense, forcing a defensive pass interference call, then followed it up with a highlight-reel catch on a fade down the right sideline for 26 yards. Love finished off the drive with a touchdown in his ninth-straight game, extending the score to 38-3.
“The sign of great teams is consistency,” Freeman said. “I challenged them at halftime to be consistent.”
Backup quarterback Steve Angeli came in to start the fourth quarter. He was 3-for-3 on the drive for 33 yards, capping it with a seven-yard pass to Deion Colzie for a touchdown.
To add insult to injury, Glenn threw an interception to Luke Talich, who returned it 79 yards for a pick-six, making it 52-3.
The Irish looked fresh coming off a bye week, exploding out of the gate. Leonard found Aneyas Williams in the flat, and the running back took it down the field for 28 yards. Then Leonard broke through FSU defenders for a 34-yard touchdown run. Jeter added the extra point.
When Florida State got the ball, it didn’t march down the field with the same pace but reached scoring range with some Irish help. Facing fourth down, Jordan Clark committed offsides and holding penalties, extending the drive. The Seminoles found themselves in another fourth-down situation, where Ja’Khi Douglas converted on a wildcat snap. But Notre Dame’s defense held strong, forcing Glenn to roll out repeatedly, resulting in a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal after a seven-minute possession.
Both teams struggled to move the ball through the rest of the opening quarter, but after four straight punts, the Irish finally got something going.
Anthony Knapp, returning after suffering an injury earlier in the game, set up a double team, allowing Jadarian Price to break through for a 65-yard touchdown run.
Notre Dame’s defense continued to dominate following FSU’s opening-drive score, with the defensive front applying constant pressure. Mills added back-to-back sacks to force another Seminole punt.
Florida State’s defense settled down after Price’s score, but Leonard finally found a rhythm in the air. He hit a leaping Harrison for a 21-yard gain. The drive eventually stalled as Azareye’h Thomas disrupted a catch attempt by Harrison.
Notre Dame’s special teams also made an impact, given the frequency of FSU punts. Adon Shuler got a hand on a punt, which rolled just 26 yards, setting the Irish up near midfield.
Prime field position didn’t yield much, though, as three straight runs inside the FSU 30-yard line set up a Jeter 42-yard attempt, which sailed wide left.
Notre Dame returns to action for its final home game of 2024, hosting Virginia at 3:30 p.m.