SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Riley Leonard rushed for two touchdowns, passed for 215 yards and one touchdown 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 yards of total offense. The Fighting Irish defense had eight sacks and two additional tackles for loss.
Notre Dame’s victory, the largest in a rivalry highlighted by down-to-the-wire finishes, evened the series at 6-6.
“Man, (I’m) proud of those guys,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “Proud of the way they prepared. As you watch film, you know you’re going against a talented group, but it could have been easy to overlook those guys in terms of preparation because of the record.
“But we’ve got a mature group,” Freeman said. “We’ve got a bunch of seniors that are continuing to lead this group in the right way, and I truly believe in my heart, Saturday is a reflection of preparation, and they are preparing the right way. They have the right mentality, and they are really going out and playing well.”
Leonard gained 70 yards rushing to go with his 215 yards passing. On his 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 a 12-yard pass from Leonard for a touchdown that extended Notre Dame’s lead to 21-3 at halftime.
Jeremiyah Love scored from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Steve Angeli finished the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Deion Colzie.
A 79-yard pick six by Luke Talich with 1:23 left in the game put an exclamation 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 passing for 37 yards.
Rylie Mills led Notre Dame with three sacks.
“We’re all disappointed,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “This is not the result we expected. This is not any part of what we want our program to look like. Guys battled throughout. Credit to the opponent what they were able to do. It’s a season full of results that make us sick, but we still have a choice to make as far as how we will finish — and that’s work and be better.”
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 this season.
Takeaways
Florida State: The Seminoles are doomed to no better than a three-win season, with a 1-9 record and two games left. Florida State’s last three-win season was the COVID-shortened 2020 season when the Seminoles were 3-6. This season could be the team’s lowest win total in a full season since Florida State was 3-8 in 1975.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will have to close strong against Virginia, Army and Southern California 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.
Poll implications
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will likely move up in the rankings after Georgia and Miami lost.
Up next
Notre Dame hosts Virginia on Saturday.
Florida State has a bye week before hosting Charleston Southern on Nov. 23.