Notre Dame's Passing Game Puts the Irish in Line to Host College Football Playoff Game
Notre Dame’s passing game is an interesting study as it’s been efficient, yet the Fighting Irish don’t have a dominant receiver on the outside.
Quarterback Riley Leonard has thrown for 2,092 yards, 16 touchdowns and just five interceptions on the year and he’s made a habit of spreading the ball around.
During Saturday’s win at USC, Leonard completed passes to eight receivers and targeted nine. Beaux Collins leads the Irish with 34 receptions this year, but he didn’t catch a pass against the Trojans.
Sure, there are positives and negatives to not having a set No. 1 receiver, but Leonard’s ability to spread the ball around makes it difficult for the defense to lock into just one guy.
Perhaps the biggest development over the last few weeks has been the emergence of the tight end room and specifically Mitchell Evans, who has started to look healthier by the week after coming back from an ACL injury last fall.
Evans recorded five catches for 59 yards and a touchdown against the Trojans, while running mate Eli Raridon rolled in two passes for 16 yards and a score.
“It’s great to get those guys going,” stated Leonard. “That’s a group that’s very unselfish. Every day, you walk into the facility, and if some guy makes a catch or has a good play in practice, the other guys are just going berserk. They are so in it for each other.
“That’s kind of how the whole team is, but that group specifically. You see Mitch Evans, he’s got the biggest smile on his face after we threw that touchdown to Eli.”
The touchdown to Raridon was big as it showed the growth in the offense. Notre Dame had called a run play, but offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was able to check the play and his players were able to communicate and execute it.
“Completely checked the play,” Leonard explained. “We were supposed to do a little inside zone action going. He goes check it and throw the up route to the tight end. We did it earlier in the season against the same exact look and threw it to Mitch Evans and scored on it. It was the same exact look and Eli made a great play.”
Notre Dame’s offense hasn’t been counted on to win games this year, as the defense has carried the program for most of the fall. Yet on Saturday, the Irish offense seemed to rise up when the defense struggled.
And then, in typical form, Notre Dame’s defense closed out the game with back-to-back touchdowns off interceptions.
“It’s amazing,” smiled Leonard. “I’m their biggest fan every time they step on the field, I’m sure you have confidence in them and I have extreme confidence in them. I’m the one who had to play against it all of fall camp and it was just a nightmare. It was incredible. Those guys are amazing.”
Notre Dame's 11-1 regular season finish should not only put the program in the College Football Playoff but also put it in line to host a first-round game.
Leonard believes the Irish deserve more than hosting and he’s quick to point to the body of work as proof.
“We’ve kind of proven that throughout the year,” stated Leonard. “When you win the turnover margin like we’ve done - luckily, the defense came in clutch here at the end of the game. We have proven ourselves throughout the year ever since week two. I think we have a lot left in the tank.”
And if the Irish do host a home playoff game, Leonard won’t be taking it for granted and the program won’t look at it as a success but rather a start.
“It’s hard to win college football games,” said Leonard. “My freshman year, I went 3-9. It’s a crazy long way from that. Every single week, these guys prepare their tails off. I feel like we practice exactly how we play. When we have good weeks of practice, throwing certain balls or hitting certain runs, it shows up. It’s like deja vu when it gets to game time. We’ll be very ready and very healed up for this playoff game coming up.”
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