by South Bend, Indiana- The 17th ranked team in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish welcomed the Miami RedHawks to South Bend. Miami attempted to be the second MAC team to upset the Irish at home this year despite having a losing record so far in the season. Notre Dame held strong on defense and stuck to the running attack with Riley Leonard which led them to a victory 28-3 against the RedHawks. Despite the one sided score the Notre Dame crowd was restless due to the way the game started.
The first half started with Miami failing to jump on a golden chance to take an early touchdown lead. Notre Dame stopped the RedHawks on their first possession after moving the chains just once. The golden chance came when Notre Dame fumbled the punt return giving the Redhawks a second shot at a score with a shorter field. Miami snuck their way to the goal line but not before disaster struck. A Brett Gabbert pass deflected off the back of a Irish defender and into the hands of a defensive player.
This would not be the only time that fumbles dictated this game. The first quarter was a slop fest of two teams struggling to hold on to the ball and drive down the field. Notre Dame had an opportunity to take the lead with a field goal but once again the Irish made a special team mistake. The holder lost hold of the ball as Kicker Mitch Jeter scooped up the ball and launched it down the field in hopes that an Irish teammate was down the field. The ball landed on the ground giving the RedHawks a few more chances to strike first blood before the Irish.
Miami started their drive in the second quarter getting into Notre Dame territory fast as they had to settle for a short field goal by Dom Dzioban. This was the last time Miami would not just hold the lead but score as well.
Miami may have started the scoring, Notre Dame made sure they were the ones to finish it. Riley Leonard used his feet this game as he led the game in rushing yards with 143 yards and two touchdowns. The running game showed its strength in the second quarter with Leonard dodging multiple RedHawks and dancing his way to the endzone.
The big plays led the way when driving down the field was made difficult for the Irish thanks to Matt Salopek and his Redhawks defense. Stacking the box and preventing the run only did so much as Leonard was able to find his receiver Collins for 38 yards and a touchdown.
Despite being down by just two scores Miami couldn’t find any momentum on offense. As soon as they did a turnover switched back the momentum in favor of the Irish. This led to two touchdowns that closed the game out. Jeremiyah Love punched one in from 15 out and Riley Leonard capped it off with a 50 yard rush to close the game out.
