SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Riley Leonard rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another, and No. 10 Notre Dame heaped more misery onto Florida State by overpowering the Seminoles 52-3 on Saturday night.
Notre Dame (8-1) rolled up 453 total yards, and the Fighting Irish defense had eight sacks and two additional tackles for a loss in their seventh consecutive victory.
Notre Dame’s victory, the largest in a rivalry highlighted by down-to-the-wire finishes, evened the series at 6-6.
On Leonard’s first touchdown, the senior quarterback broke to the left side and sprinted 34 yards, diving into the end zone to cap Notre Dame’s first drive. He sliced through the Florida State defense for a 6-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Jadarian Price ran 65 yards for Notre Dame’s second touchdown, and tight end Mitchell Evans caught in a 12-yard pass from Leonard for a touchdown that extended the lead to 21-3 at halftime. Leonard finished 14-for-27 passing for 215 yards.
Jeremiyah Love scored from the 1 early in the fourth, and backup quarterback Steve Angeli tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Deion Colzie later in the quarter.
Luke Talich’s 79-yard pick-six with 1:23 left in the game put a punctuation mark on the Notre Dame victory.
Florida State (1-9) drove 75 yards on 16 plays to set up a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald in the first quarter. The Seminoles only managed 37 yards in their next seven drives combined.
Notre Dame’s defense punished Florida State quarterbacks Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek with eight sacks for minus-81 yards. Glenn was 5-of-18 passing for 51 yards and two interceptions. Kromenhoek was 5 of 8 for 37 yards.
Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III left the game in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury. Cross limped off the field and did not return. He leads Notre Dame with four sacks.
Takeaways
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will have to close strong against Virginia, Army and USC and get some help to nail down home field in the College Football Playoff. One misstep, though, and the Fighting Irish might have some restless nights before the selections are announced.
Florida State: The Seminoles are doomed to no better than a three-win season. Florida State’s last three-win year was the COVID-shortened 2020 season when the Seminoles went 3-6. This could be their lowest win total in a full season since they went 3-8 in 1975.
Up next
Notre Dame: Plays host to Virginia on Saturday.
Florida State: Plays host to Charleston Southern on Nov. 23.
