Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs for a touchdown as Miami Redhawks linebacker Matt Salopek (15) defends in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
Quarterback Riley Leonard had 297 yards of offense and three touchdowns, and No. 17 Notre Dame pulled away for a 28-3 victory over Miami (Ohio) on Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana.
Leonard completed 16 of 25 passes for 154 yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame (3-1), which won its second straight since a shocking loss to Northern Illinois. Leonard also carried the ball 12 times for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
Brett Gabbert completed 14 of 35 passes for 119 yards and two interceptions for Miami (Ohio), which remains winless on the season at 0-3. Cade McDonald caught four passes for 52 yards to lead the team.
Notre Dame outgained Miami (Ohio) 428-229. The Fighting Irish averaged 6.7 yards per play, compared to 3.6 yards per play for the RedHawks.
The RedHawks opened the scoring with Dom Dzioban’s 26-yard field goal with 12:32 remaining in the first half.
Notre Dame took a 7-3 lead with 3:33 left in the first half. Leonard faked a handoff, kept the ball and dodged a pair of defenders to score an 8-yard touchdown.
The Fighting Irish struck again with 1:05 left in the first half to make it 14-3. Leonard connected with Beaux Collins, who caught a 38-yard pass down the right sideline for his first touchdown of the season.
In the third quarter, Notre Dame turned to its ground game to take a 21-3 lead. Jeremiyah Love scored on a 15-yard run to cap a seven-play, 60-yard drive.
Leonard struck again with his legs in the fourth quarter to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 28-3. He held the ball on fourth-and-1 and ran 50 yards for a touchdown to put the game out of reach with 5:39 remaining.
The play marked Leonard’s second touchdown of the afternoon and his sixth rushing touchdown in four games with Notre Dame. It also made Leonard the first Fighting Irish quarterback to surpass 100 rushing yards in consecutive games since Carlyle Holiday accomplished the feat in 2001.
–Field level media
