Notre Dame won its sixth game in a row this weekend when the Irish blasted previously 24th-ranked Navy. The Irish won by a convincing 51-14 score, and the offensive performance might have been the team's best of the season.
Here are some key takeaways from their 37 point victory yesterday at MetLife Stadium.
Evolution of Riley Leonard
Irish fans have been waiting to see the healthy Duke version of Riley Leonard for quite some time. Earlier in the season, there were sporadic flashes of his excellence, during Stanford and Georgia Tech, there were periods, and against Navy, the Leonard of old burst onto the scene.
The senior quarterback finished the day 13 of 21 for 178 yards passing, 8.5 yards per attempt, two passing touchdowns, 83 rushing yards on ten carries, and one touchdown on the ground. On paper, Leonard has put up better stats than his performance against Navy, so what sets this one apart?
It's safe to say that this was by far the most comfortable we have seen the Duke transfer look in a Notre Dame uniform. Leonard was very effective and quick with his decision making, did a tremendous job of anticipating throws, efficiently moved through his read progression and ended the day with 261 total yards of offense and accounted for three touchdowns. His journey in South Bend if far from over, but Leonard is coming into his own for the Irish with no signs of slowing down.
The Return Of Billy Schrauth
It is no surprise that the Notre Dame offensive line had their best collective pass blocking performance of the season when Billy Schrauth made his return to the starting lineup. The starting right guard to start the season, Schrauth got the start at left guard upon his return from the leg injury he suffered in game three against Purdue.
As a whole, the offensive line graded out at a 77.1 grade per PFF with Schrauth leading the way with a pass blocking grade of 85.3. On 31 pass blocking snaps, the 6-5 310 pound guard allowed zero pressures, zero hurries, zero hits on the quarterback and zero sacks allowed. Not only is his return felt at the individual level, but it has an impact on the surrounding talent as well.
True freshman Anthonie Knapp has struggled through the majority of the eight games he has started from a pass blocking perspective. The move to put the veteran Schrauth next to Knapp at left guard showcased obvious improvement from the true freshman. Having a veteran lined up next to you opposed to a talented, yet inexperienced redshirt freshman, will bode well for the duo in games to come. Now, with the bye week coming up, they will have a chance to continue to build their chemistry before taking on the Florida State Seminoles on November 9th under the lights in South Bend.
Emergence Of The Wide Receivers
The Notre Dame passing game has been a very hot topic in the 2024 season, and the wide receivers have been criticized ad nauseam for their performance, or lack there of, through eight games. The Notre Dame receivers turned a corner this weekend at MetLife Stadium, and answered the call of many critiques. The Irish had five pass catchers average over 12 yards per reception yesterday against a Navy pass defense that has generated 10 interceptions and 7.3 yards per attempt.
Jordan Faison finished the day with four catches for 52 yards and 13.0 yards per catch, Beaux Collins had two catches for 42 yards, 21.0 yards per catch and a touchdown, Jaden Greathouse had one catch on the afternoon that went for 42 yards on a 3rd down conversion and Mitchell Evans averaged 12.5 yards per catch.
In back to back weeks, the football was distributed to nine different Notre Dame receivers. Spreading the wealth is crucial, especially when you have a lot of talent in your running back, wide receiver, and tight end rooms. The receiving core as a whole is a far from finished product, but they made the necessary strides throughout this three game stretch to show promise for the home stretch of the season.
This was one of the few complete performances we have seen from this Mike Denbrock led crew in 2024 and it did not disappoint. Leonard finished the day with 261 total yards of offense and three scores, Jeremiyah Love had his best rushing performance since the Purdue game and finished with 12 carries for 102 yards and two rushing touchdowns including a 64 yard touchdown run, and Faison had his best performance of the season so far.
The Notre Dame offense is not a finished product, but have shown they have taken the necessary steps in this three game stretch to end the season on a high note. The bye week could not be timed more perfectly, giving Denbrock and company an opportunity to refine and fine tune the offense going into the final four games of the season. What do they have to build off of? A 37 point victory over the undefeated 24th ranked team in the country.
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