Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman Answers If He Considered Benching Riley Leonard In Historic Loss

Following the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's unprecedented and historic Week 2 16-14 loss to the heavy underdog Northern Illinois Huskies, head coach Marcus Freeman revealed whether he considered benching quarterback Riley Leonard in favor of Steve Angeli during Saturday's game.

Leonard and the Notre Dame offensive struggled throughout Saturday's game against the Huskies, as the team only scored 14 points and tallied 286 total yards of offense. Leonard completed 20-of-32 passes for 163 yards while rushing for 16 yards and a touchdown. Leonard also threw two interceptions, adding to the offensive struggles throughout the contest.

When asked Monday if he had any consideration on Saturday of replacing Leonard with quarterback Steve Angeli, Freeman reiterated his confidence in Leonard's ability to run the offense.

"No, there was no consideration of that," Marcus Freeman said to media on Monday. "We have a lot of belief in Riley and him running our offense."

Through two games, Riley Leonard has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 321 yards and two interceptions. He’s yet to throw a touchdown pass but has rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown.

Leonard arrived in South Bend following a transfer from the Duke Blue Devils, where he threw for 4,450 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in three seasons.

As for Angeli, he’s played in 10 games and has completed 34-of-44 career pass attempts for 504 yards and seven touchdowns with a lone interception since joining the program as a three-star recruit in 2022.

While Freeman and the Irish still have a legitimate chance at a College Football Playoff berth given the program's favorable schedule as an FBS-Independent, the offensive efficiency will certainly need to be improved for the team to be taken seriously throughout the rest of the season.

The Fighting Irish will look to bounce back in Week 3 as they travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, to clash with the Purdue Boilermakers from Ross-Ade Stadium at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.