On Saturday night, the 10th-ranked Notre Dame football team picked up its seventh consecutive victory with a 52-3 beatdown of Florida State. Here’s a look back at the five key moments that put the Irish in complete control.
Leonard uses athleticism in opening drive score
To begin the sellout night game for the Irish, senior quarterback Riley Leonard capped off the opening drive with a 34-yard rushing touchdown. On the read option play, Leonard took off and juked one defender, sprinted on the sideline and was able to finish the play with a dive over the pylon for the score. The Irish have found major success this year on the opening drive. Scoring in five of the total nine games in the opening drive, and the last three in a row, Notre Dame has found a way to build an early lead and control the flow of the game.
Price makes a house call to reawaken the offense
To open the second quarter, Jadarian Price exploded for a 65-yard rushing touchdown. Breaking free from the middle of the field, the sophomore running back outran the Seminole defenders to give the Irish a 14-3 lead. Outside of the Leonard rushing touchdown on the first drive, to this point, both of the main Irish running backs (junior Jeremiyah Love and Price) had rushed for six carries and 22 yards. This run opened up the offensive scheme for the Irish and allowed the offense to feel comfortable taking more vertical shots in the passing game. The sophomore running back broke free for a 70-rush in Week Three against Purdue, and this 65-yard run was his second-longest of the season.
Irish strike again in the shadow of halftime
With 22 seconds remaining in the first half and on a fourth and 10, Leonard completed a 22-yard strike to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Faison. With the help of a penalty at the end of the play, the Irish were set up for a touchdown to close the first half with a 21-3 lead. After graduate kicker Mitch Jeter missed a 42-yard field goal, the Irish felt comfortable going for it on a fourth and long considering the Seminoles had no timeouts remaining and had struggled to move the ball on offense. While it was certainly a somewhat risky play call for the Irish, the gamble helped bring the lead to 18 points on a touchdown pass to senior tight end Mitchell Evans and put the Irish in a commanding position to open the second half.
Clark’s first interception with Notre Dame sets up another score
To open the third quarter, Florida State began to get into a rhythm running the ball. But after a sack from graduate defensive tackle Rylie Mills, graduate nickelback Jordan Clark intercepted Brock Glenn’s pass on third and 17. With 12:38 left in the third quarter, this interception set up a quick touchdown to open the second half and bring the lead to 28-3. The transfer from Arizona State earned his first interception in blue and gold, helping the Irish secondary hold the Seminoles to under 100 yards passing on the game.
Talich tops off the win with a pick-six
With 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, sophomore safety Luke Talich intercepted the second ball for the Notre Dame defense and returned it 79 yards for a touchdown. Bringing the score to 52-3, Talich’s interception was the cherry on top for the dominant Notre Dame defense Saturday night. Talich brought in the first interception of his career, and Notre Dame stadium celebrated this moment with him in the only night game of the season. The Irish would finish the game at 52-3, energized for the matchup against Virginia on Nov. 16.
