Dominant Notre Dame win against FSU helps put Irish in enviable Playoff position
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 10 Notre Dame won its seventh consecutive game in dominant fashion Saturday night, blowing out struggling Florida State 52-3.
The Irish (8-1) scored within the first two minutes on a 34-yard Riley Leonard touchdown run and never looked back, with the scoring barrage capped by a 79-yard Luke Talich pick six with 1:23 left. It was the most lopsided loss yet in a dismal season for the Seminoles (1-9) and the third time Notre Dame has won a game by more than 40 points.
Here are some initial takeaways from Notre Dame's runaway win:
How close are Irish to locking up Playoff bid?
Saturday felt like the weekend when Notre Dame went from almost certain to make the College Football Playoff if it wins out to a stone cold lock to get in.
Not only did the Irish put down the Seminoles with minimal fuss, but they got a boost from No. 4 Miami's loss at Georgia Tech — a team Notre Dame already beat handily last month. The Hurricanes drastically reduced the ACC's chances of putting two teams in the College Football Playoff because it guarantees the loser of that conference title game will have a second loss.
It was harder to get a read on what the rest of Saturday's results meant for Notre Dame, at least in terms of hosting in the first round.
No. 8 Indiana beating Michigan means the Hoosiers are likely to finish 11-1 at worst, with Ohio State and Purdue remaining on their schedule. No. 7 Penn State hammered Washington and has Purdue, Minnesota and Maryland left on its slate. With No. 2 Ohio State and No. 1 Oregon also winning, the Big Ten is well positioned for four bids.
The SEC is even more jumbled. No. 16 Ole Miss handling No. 3 Georgia might give the Rebels a shot to jump Notre Dame in next week's rankings, or at least close the gap. It's hard to believe No. 11 Alabama won't jump Notre Dame, too, after dominating No. 15 LSU in Death Valley. With No. 5 Texas and No. 7 Tennessee also winning while No. 14 Texas A&M got the weekend off, the SEC is a threat to get four teams into the CFP too.
But Notre Dame can live with the Big Ten and SEC taking up the majority of CFP slots because the ACC and Big 12 are looking increasingly like one-bid leagues. That means the Irish have entered win-and-get-in territory at a minimum.
Cross injury a concern for Notre Dame
The moment probably doesn't impact Notre Dame in November, but watching defensive tackle Howard Cross III down on the turf early in the second quarter was the kind of shock that reminds you blowout wins can still come at a cost. The All-American appeared to suffer an ankle sprain, evident by his ability to walk off the field and the volume of training tape applied to that ankle afterward.
Cross didn't return to the game, but he remained on the sideline throughout.
It's not like Notre Dame needed Cross at full strength to bull rush Florida State's quarterbacks, which were sacked a combined eight times and completed just 10 of 26 passes for 88 yards. Yet having a fully functional Cross is critical to winning in the postseason when Notre Dame will face fully formed offenses. Cross has already battled an injury this season, when a summer hamstring strain limited him during training camp and seemed to slow him through September.
With Cross working in tandem with Rylie Mills , who posted a career-high three sacks, the Irish have one of the best pass-rushing defensive tackle duos in the country, the kind of thing that makes up for the lack of a pure pass rusher off the edge. But without Cross, blocking Mills becomes much easier, which also means the pressure Notre Dame can create on defense gets harder to produce.
How quickly Notre Dame can get Cross back to full health will be a priority for a defense that's already taken heavy injury losses.
Imperfect Irish offense still cruised
Maybe it's a good thing Notre Dame's offense never got out of third gear and still ran roughshod over Florida State with 453 yards while averaging 7.3 yards per play.
Leonard was more than adequate, finishing 14-of-27 for 215 yards and a 12-yard touchdown to tight end Mitchell Evans . The quarterback was dangerous in the screen game, finding receivers Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison . Leonard stretched the field to Jayden Harrison and got freshman running back Aneyas Williams involved, too. He also rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns.
It was all fine. Even if it wasn't great.
Notre Dame had back-to-back possessions go three-and-out in the first half, when the game had some scent of doubt. The run game was more boom or bust than offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock might have liked, but who turns down a 34-yard touchdown run from your quarterback and a 65-yard touchdown run from your No. 2 back? That sprint up the middle by Jadarian Price sent Notre Dame on its way to the blowout win, putting the Irish up 14-3 early in the second quarter.
Notre Dame didn't need to be great offensively and wasn't against Florida State. But after six consecutive weeks of offensive progress, maybe the Irish were due for a plateau. They hit one on Saturday night.
(Photo of Riley Leonard: Michael Reaves / )
