Notre Dame football came out with a 31-24 victory over the Louisville Cardinals on Saturday, avenging their 33-20 loss to them last season, a game that was not nearly as close as that final score would indicate. There were obviously a lot of positives during this most recent contest, although it was very inconsistent. A player who perfectly exemplifies the Irish experience on Saturday is quarterback Riley Leonard .
The game started off hot offensively, with the passing attack seeming to hit a groove early with Leonard. We saw sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse catch a touchdown, which was tremendous to see. Jeremiyah Love also had a huge touchdown off of a screen pass in the fourth quarter, which Notre Dame fans have also been asking for all season.
That first quarter was exciting, ending with the Irish having a 21-7 lead. For a second, it looked like Notre Dame was going to run away with this one, and blowout the Cardinals in front of the home crowd. There was a lul in offensive production pretty much until the fourth quarter thereafter, showing an inability to find answers to counteract the increased pressure from the Louisville defense.
During that drought, there seemed to be an emphasis on being conservative. Obviously Notre Dame is a running football team, but with the passing game beginning to take a nice step, why not feature it more?
The same was true later in the game when the Irish needed one first down to ice the game. Everything just seemed very passive offensively. Instead, the Irish staff chose to lean on their defense. Once again the offense was the compliment to the defense, not the other way around.
This question has been asked before, but it became even more apparent on Saturday, does this Irish staff truly have confidence in quarterback Riley Leonard? Even when Leonard was playing the best he has played for the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame still seemed to choose not to feature him enough. When the opportunity was out there to ice the game, the staff once again chose passiveness.
Throughout this season, and before, I have been an advocate for Notre Dame sticking with Leonard and continuing to develop him within the structure of the offense. At some point, however, this team is going to have to show belief in their talented signal caller. It becomes apparent in high pressure moments that they don’t, or at least very little.
Either that needs to change, or Notre Dame is going to have to find another answer under center. For my money, it should be Leonard, but you can’t fake belief. The Irish staff needs to find their guy, and then give them their trust. Until they do, this offense will continue to be limited.
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