Notre Dame offense gains footing against Georgia Tech after interception
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard rushed for two touchdowns in a 31-13 win over Georgia Tech. (Photo by Brett Davis-Imagn Images)
ATLANTA — Riley Leonard threw 93 passes between interceptions.
The last time Notre Dame’s starting quarterback threw an interception before Saturday was in the Irish’s embarrassing loss to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7. Leonard’s next interception came on his fourth pass against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Neither interception was thrown near the intended target on passes deep in the field.
This time, wide receiver Bo Collins was going to receive Leonard’s long throw. Fortunately for No. 12 Notre Dame, a 31-13 win over the Yellow Jackets didn’t cost them too much.
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Leonard said after the game that Georgia Tech (5-3) fell to Cover 3, leaving a safety in the middle of the field where Collins was supposed to run a post route. Collins seemed to realize he shouldn’t have been the intended target, as Leonard eased his route before letting go of the pass. Cornerback Warren Burrell tracked the pass near the goal line and returned it 27 yards for an interception.
“It was just a bad read,” Leonard said. “You can’t throw the ball up like that.”
The play worked several times in practice throughout the week for Notre Dame (6-1), but Leonard reminded them that the defense needs to be aware of what it’s doing at the moment.
“We ran that play five times in practice and threw that ball to Bo five times,” Leonard said. “Well, that doesn’t mean anything. It has nothing to do with what happens in the game. So before the snap I’m thinking, ‘OK, muscle memory.’ Practice what we practice. If you have even the slightest chance, pull the trigger. ”
“Well, those inches closed quickly. At the end of the day, we had to practice and understand that it could be completely different in the game.”
Leonard’s expression after the interception was completely different. Leonard started the game by completing 2-of-4 passes for 8 yards before completing his next 12 pass attempts. Each of those consecutive completions gained at least eight yards. As Leonard started to heat up, Notre Dame’s offense heated up as well. The Irish led 7-0 at the end of the first quarter with two scoreless offensive possessions. They scored touchdowns on their next three meaningful possessions, not counting one play Neal to end the first half.
Leonard credited his improvement in the second quarter to trusting his eyes and his coaching and staying calm.
“Don’t be a dummy,” Leonard said. “If they give you a hitch, take the hitch. It’s hard to do, but it’s really not that hard. Take what the defense gives you, move the ball down the field, chain it. After that, I was like, “Okay, calm down.” Please play the game. ”
Leonard also helped energize the offense with his feet. He had two third downs on Notre Dame’s first scoring drive with a 1-yard run. The second conversion resulted in a touchdown, tying the game with seven minutes left in the second quarter.
The offense began to roar on its second scoring drive. The Irish had five consecutive games of at least 11 yards on a five-play, 68-yard touchdown drive. Leonard hit running back Jeremiah Love for 25 yards and wide receiver Chris Mitchell for 14 yards. After a false start penalty on tight end Mitchell Evans, Leonard completed two passes to Collins for 11 yards each. Leonard then found a gaping hole on the right side of Notre Dame’s offense and completed a 12-yard touchdown run. Rather than stopping Leonard, two Georgia Tech defenders chased Evans as he ran a fake route.
Leonard kept the momentum going on Notre Dame’s first drive of the second half. He connected with wide receiver Jayden Greathouse on a slot fade for 28 yards to start the drive. Collins then completed a 15-yard run that set up Love’s 1-yard touchdown run to give Notre Dame a 21-7 lead with 11:01 left in the third quarter.
Notre Dame’s offense limped a bit to the goal line. The Irish faked a forward pass in the backfield from Davis Sherwood to Jayden Harrison that was reversed and given to Love to keep the drive alive in the fourth quarter, which led to Zach’s 42-yard field goal. We needed a successful punt. Yoakam made his first career appearance in place of injured Mitch Jeter.
Notre Dame had to be prepared to attempt a field goal on its next drive, but wide receiver Tyler Buchner took the snap as a secret holder and dove near the sideline for a 4-yard gain and a narrow first down. It was after I picked it up. However, Notre Dame had poor field position on the next few plays. This allowed Yocum to attempt a 46-yard shot, but it missed to the right.
The Irish defense ran for a 36-yard touchdown on the next play, with safety Adon Shuler returning an interception for a score. Notre Dame led 31-7 with 2:37 left before Georgia Tech scored in the second half.
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Leonard completed 20 of 29 passes (69.0%) for 203 yards, but he had a lot to do with him reaching the 200-yard mark for the second time this season and second consecutive game. More than half of Notre Dame’s receiving yards (120 according to the official box score) came on yards after the catch. Love led the Irish in receiving yards with 57 yards on three catches, 34 of which came after the catch. Collins caught a team-high five passes for 51 yards, 20 of which came after the catch. All but two of Evans’ 26 receiving yards on four catches came through the air.
Notre Dame’s onslaught continued with a trio of Leonard, running back Jadarian Price, and Love. Price ended up being the most productive with 69 yards on eight carries. Leonard rushed 10 times for 51 yards and two touchdowns. Love was held to 36 yards and one touchdown on 14 carries.
Most of Price’s yards came on Notre Dame’s three longest runs of the day: 19 yards in the first quarter, 23 yards in the third quarter and 19 yards in the fourth.
“Every time the ball gets in his hands, something good can happen,” Leonard said of Price. “We trust him no matter what. He’s a great player to just have in the backfield with us, whether it’s the passing game or the run game. He’s comfortable. Every time he steps out there, you I feel confident. That also contributed greatly to this attack.”
Love drew praise from Leonard for helping clear the way on some of Leonard’s runs.
“This guy at the quarterback counter is a freight train,” Leonard said. “You’re talking about the most athletic guy among us who probably has every right to be a little hesitant. He might not care too much. He’s a guy who brings a lot of glory. He’s not going to say a lot. He’s not going to complain if he goes head-to-head with linebackers and gets a concussion. It doesn’t bother him. If it’s something that’s asked of him, he’ll do it, so I have a lot of respect for him.”
The blueprint for Notre Dame’s offense has become clear through seven games. The Irish will run the ball, find matchups to exploit in the passing game, and try to limit turnovers. The flashy version Notre Dame had when it added Leonard and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock in the offseason may never materialize this year.
It doesn’t have to be either, at least not until there’s a chance of playing in the College Football Playoff. Notre Dame has several upcoming games on its schedule, including next week’s game against No. 25 Navy (6-0) at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (12 p.m. ET on ABC TV). , a crushing victory may have to be accepted.
As long as Leonard makes the right decisions, he doesn’t need to make incredible throws to get the offense going.
“He reloaded and came back with the right mindset,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said of Leonard’s reaction to throwing the interception. “Those things happen. He didn’t read it right and made the wrong decision. But he’s confident. It’s part of the game, even if sometimes you can be wrong. , you have to be confident in your decisions, because there were times when I made the wrong decisions, but because he made them quickly, it turned out to be a great play.
“And he’s a confident guy because of the way he prepares. And after the interception, he did a great job of leading our offense.”
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