We all know that Notre Dame’s offense is not playing to the standard Irish fans expect in a consistent way. It’s true for most teams in football the play of the quarterback determines the productivity of the offense. This is certainly true when considering the play of Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense.
When the graduate transfer from Duke is off, this offense cannot get anything done. Leonard often turns his body so he can only see half the field. As soon as the defensive line starts to pressure him, he starts to run where he usually only picks up a few yards, rather than looking downfield a second longer, where his receivers have finally got open.
On Saturday against Miami (Ohio), Leonard’s first quarter was absolutely atrocious, and to go three and out on the first drive of the second quarter was just bad. The three running plays were indicative of the unexciting Notre Dame offense we’ve come to know and dislike this season. The boos that came from the student section as the offense ran off the field were what every Notre Dame fan was feeling.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock came back to Notre Dame after overseeing one of the best offenses in the country with LSU. Granted his quarterback, Jayden Daniels, was throwing to two future first round NFL draft picks, but Denbrock was responsible for a lot of that. It’s difficult to believe that Denbrock is not continuing to draw up the same plays he drew up down in LSU, which means Leonard is just not executing them.
After the game, head coach Marcus Freeman was asked about Leonard’s play in the beginning of the game versus the end and the crowd response.
“I didn't ask [Leonard] about how he feels about people booing him … We can't perform to … make sure everybody cheers for us, all right. That's a part of the game, right? If you don't do your job, people are going to boo you. But if you let that affect the way you go out and execute the next play, then man, you're not the right person for this job or to be our quarterback at Notre Dame,” Freeman said.
Maybe the booing was effective. On the next drive, he put together an 87-yard drive that ended with an 8-yard rushing touchdown. It did give Notre Dame its first lead of the game, but Leonard needed to show he was actually a threat through the air, as well. Finally, on the next drive, he threw the best pass Notre Dame fans have ever seen out of him. He hit graduate wideout Beaux Collins in stride for a beautiful, 38-yard touchdown.
I’m still not convinced Leonard is the best choice to lead this Notre Dame offense, but as long as Notre Dame keeps winning, the coaching staff is unlikely to make a change.
“I don’t know how many yards Riley led [Notre Dame’s] offense to through rushing and passing, but there’s always parts to clean up. And we’ve got to continue to look at the mistakes that he made and say, ‘Okay, how do we do a better job of not putting him in a position to make mistakes, and where was the disconnect?’ But we’ve got a lot of confidence in our quarterback that led us to a great victory today,” Freeman said.
