Riley Leonard, No. 10 Notre Dame pound Florida State 52-3

Field Level Media|published: Sat 9th November, 23:17 2024

NCAA Football: Florida State at Notre Dame

Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Mitchell Evans (88) scores a touchdown against Florida State Seminoles linebacker Omar Graham Jr. (9) in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Riley Leonard passed for one touchdown and rushed for two more as No. 10 Notre Dame cruised over visiting Florida State 52-3 on Saturday night in South Bend, Ind.

Jadarian Price added 95 rushing yards and a touchdown for Notre Dame (8-1), which won its seventh in a row. Leonard completed 14 of 27 passes for 215 yards and a touchdown and carried the ball 11 times for 70 yards and two scores.

Lawrance Toafili had 15 carries for 74 yards to lead the Seminoles (1-9), whose nightmare season continued with their sixth consecutive loss. Brock Glenn completed 5 of 18 passes for 52 yards and two interceptions and Luke Kromenhoek completed 5 of 8 passes for 37 yards.

Notre Dame outgained Florida State 453-208.

Notre Dame built a 21-3 lead at halftime thanks to a pair of long rushing touchdowns and a shorter passing strike.

Leonard started the scoring with a 34-yard scramble to the end zone on the opening drive. He made a pair of defenders miss and sprinted down the left sideline before leaping past another defender on his way across the goal line.

After a Florida State field goal, Notre Dame struck again with a 65-yard rushing touchdown by Price. He found a hole and won a footrace down the left sideline.

Leonard added a 12-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Evans with 17 seconds left in the half.

By the end of the third quarter, Notre Dame increased its lead to 31-3.

Leonard scored from 6 yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the game and 13th of the season. The Fighting Irish added a field goal late in the third quarter.

Three more Notre Dame touchdowns in the fourth quarter added to Florida State's misery.

Jeremiyah Love scored on a 1-yard run with 10:53 remaining to cap a seven-play, 65-yard drive.

Backup quarterback Steve Angeli got in on the action with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Deion Colzie with 4:06 to go.

The final touchdown belonged to the Notre Dame defense. Luke Talich intercepted a pass by Glenn and returned it 79 yards to the house with 1:23 remaining.

--Field Level Media