Are Riley Leonard’s legs enough for Notre Dame? Takeaways after Irish win vs. Miami (OH)
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 17 Notre Dame shrugged off a slow start and pulled away to easily avoid another MAC upset, beating Miami (OH) 28-3 on Saturday.
The Irish trailed 3-0 deep into the second quarter before a pair of Riley Leonard touchdowns — one run and one long pass — in the final four minutes of the second quarter. Jeremiyah Love added a touchdown in the third quarter, and Leonard shut the door with a breakaway touchdown in the fourth for the Irish, who improved to 3-1. Here are some immediate takeaways:
Notre Dame needs more from Leonard as a passer
Marcus Freeman has backed Leonard at every opportunity this season. That included during the first half against Miami when Leonard seemed to develop a case of the yips, missing short throws and launching longer ones in the hope of making something good happen.
Leonard remained activated as a runner for Notre Dame, capped by a 50-yard exclamation point touchdown in the fourth quarter. But at some point, the Irish will need more from their Duke transfer quarterback . It's hard to know if Notre Dame will get it, even after Leonard's 38-yard go route to Beaux Collins just before halftime relieved some of the pressure inside Notre Dame Stadium. Leonard reverted to form in the second half, struggling to read Miami's defense and even losing a fumble on a long run to start the third quarter.
Leonard completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards and rushed 12 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns. He hasn't thrown for more than 163 yards in a game but has rushed for 100-plus yards in back-to-back weeks.
Can Notre Dame win out with a quarterback who's not a dual-threat in the way he was advertised?
The path gets more difficult from here, with No. 19 Louisville next weekend as the ACC schedule kicks into gear. Notre Dame probably can't afford to keep playing offense like this with Leonard. But it's not clear if Freeman has the appetite to try something else.
Gray delivers opposite Morrison
Miami wanted no part of Notre Dame All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison on Saturday, so it gave sophomore Christian Gray a workout in a game plan built around quarterback Brett Gabbert's right arm. Gray was targeted twice on Miami's opening drive. He broke up a pass by the goal line that turned into a Junior Tuihalamaka interception. And Gray made his own interception in the third quarter as Gabbert looked to take a shot but underthrew wideout Kam Perry.
Notre Dame turned that interception into points on a seven-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that ended with Love's 15-yard touchdown run that felt like a victory of attrition for the Irish offense. That's because the defense dominated Miami nearly the entire game, with Gray taking away a spot Miami wanted to target.
Gabbert finished 14 of 35 for 119 yards and two interceptions as Miami's pass game couldn't find its footing against Notre Dame's secondary and pass rush. Boubacar Traore finished with two sacks and Howard Cross III had one in holding down the RedHawks .
Miami thought it could find joy by staying away from Morrison. Instead, it saw how much more Notre Dame's secondary has to offer beyond the future first-round pick.
Irish special teams face questions
There was a illegal block in the back that wiped out a creative kickoff return. There was a bungled field goal snap that the holder couldn't grasp. And there was a fumbled punt return by Jordan Faison in the first quarter that put Miami in the red zone on its second drive.
On the same weekend punter James Rendell found his form with a couple of booming punts, the special teams units at large labored, at least until a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter provided a late positive. Two weeks ago in the home loss to Northern Illinois — which lost to Buffalo on Saturday — the Irish allowed two blocked field goals, including a 61-yard field goal attempt by Mitch Jeter that could have won it. It was all enough to make Notre Dame's special teams units appear to be a shadow of their former selves under coordinator Brian Mason.
Marty Biagi's return and block units did get off to a strong start last season or at least did no harm. But Notre Dame had trouble until the fourth quarter against Miami, whose punter fumbled an attempt last week in a loss to Cincinnati . Biagi has plenty to clean up moving toward next Saturday's game vs. Louisville (3:30 p.m. ET, Peacock).
(Photo of Riley Leonard: Quinn Harris / Getty Ima
