The Fighting Irish won their first home game of the season against Miami (Ohio) with a final score of 28-3

 

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The 25-point margin over the Redhawks looked a lot better on paper than it did here in person, as the Irish went scoreless in the first quarter. Following their lack of a performance, the crowd booed the Irish.

"That's part of game, right? If you don't do your job, people are going to boo you," Head Coach Marcus Freeman said.
Fans not only booed the team, they called for backup quarterback Steve Angeli midway through the second quarter, as Miami (Ohio) held a three-point lead.

"If you let that affect the way you go out and execute the next play, then, man, you're not the right person for this job or for it to be our quarterback at Notre Dame," Freeman said. "We tune out all the noise. We stick to ourselves, and we understand, you know, we got to perform. We got to put on a show," Leonard added.

The show started as Leonard found the endzone on an 8-yard run with 3:33 left in the second quarter, putting Notre Dame in the lead at 7-3.

We know his legs work and are a huge part of his game but the one thing we were waiting on is a passing touchdown. Leonard completed a 38-yard touchdown pass to Beaux Collins. This marked Leonard’s first passing touchdown after 14 quarters as the starting quarterback, extending the lead 14-3 at halftime.

"Obviously with the deep ball, it gave me a lot of confidence to know I can throw the ball down the field, and something good happened," Leonard said.

"It was amazing just being able to see all the work that we've put in all camp, all summer and things like that finally come to fruition for especially for a QB receiver," Collins added.

Collins completed his night with 60 receiving yards. Leonard's final stat line: 16-25 passing, 154 passing yards and one touchdown, plus 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Although it wasn't pretty, the team is shifting their attention to an unbeaten opponent, coming into Notre Dame Stadium in week 5.
"Oh yeah, it's a big one. Louisville. They're always going to bring their best. They're a team I have a lot of respect for just growing up watching Lamar and all that. They bring in players just like we do here," Collins said.

"Played them two times in my past, so it's a redemption game for me, as well as all these guys," Leonard added.