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Riley Leonard, Notre Dame hands FSU football its worst loss of the season | 3 Takeaways
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- Riley Leonard, Notre Dame hands FSU football its worst loss of the season | 3 Takeaways
Flashes of Navy and Gold ran all over Florida State football as Notre Dame handed the Seminoles a 52-3 loss Saturday night.
In front of a nearly sold-out Notre Dame Stadium, the Fighting Irish (8-1) dominated FSU, recording eight sacks to hand the Seminoles (1-9) a sixth loss in a row.
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The 49-point loss is tied for the second worst in program history , only behind last season's 63-3 loss to Georgia.
It's the second straight game the Seminoles have allowed seven or more sacks and the FSU offense has yet to record more than 300 yards of total offense or more than 21 points this season.
Both Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek played and failed to record a touchdown or more than 100 yards.
Glenn finished 5-of-18 for 52 yards and two interceptions, including a pick-six in the final minutes of the game. Kromenhoek finished 5-of-7 for 37 yards.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard set the tone early with a 34-yard touchdown run just under two minutes into the game. FSU responded with its best, and only scoring drive of the night, going 72 yards down the field and settling for a 23-yard Ryan Fitzgerald field goal.
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The Seminoles' offense failed to impact the game at all for the remainder of the night.
Notre Dame punted on back-to-back drives before a three-play, 84-yard drive that took just over a minute. Running back Jadarian Price recorded all 84 yards and scored on a 65-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.
After FSU looked to have forced a field goal out of Notre Dame late in the second quarter, Mike Norvell called timeout before the kick. The Fighting Irish came out of the timeout and converted a 4th and 10 play while FSU had 12 men on the field.
Leonard threw a touchdown to tight end Mitchell Evans on the next play to send the Fighting Irish into halftime up 21-3.
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In the second half, Notre Dame scored 31 points, including a 79-yard pick-six to hand FSU a 52-3 loss, the worst defeat of the season.
The Seminoles post a season-worst offensive showing
The Seminoles started a ninth different offensive line unit vs. Notre Dame and it made no difference. FSU posted a season-worst offensive showing with just three points.
Totaling just 208 yards of total offense, the Seminoles' quarterbacks completed just 10 passes. It is the fourth straight game that both quarterbacks finished with single-digit completions.
Despite the success running the football on the opening drive, the FSU offensive line couldn't contain Notre Dame's Rylie Mills and the Fighting Irish defensive front.
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Mills recorded a team-high three sacks and he spent much of the game in the Seminoles backfield putting pressure on the FSU offense.
Lawrance Toafili recorded 71 rushing yards, but outside of him, the Seminoles struggled on the ground, again. The 88 passing yards are the lowest of the season.
Riley Leonard , Notre Dame's offense steamrolls FSU's defense
Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) jumps over Florida State Seminoles safety Shyheim Brown (1) for a touchdown in the first quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
While Notre Dame's defense was the focus coming into the game, Leonard and the Fighting Irish offense ran all over the Seminoles.
The Fighting Irish recorded 201 rushing yards and four touchdowns, with Leonard scoring two. Price led all rushers with 95 yards.
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FSU's defense had no answer for the run game, allowing Notre Dame rushers to get into the second level with ease and create big plays. The Fighting Irish averaged just over six yards per rush.
Leonard added 215 passing yards and a touchdown in the air. He finished 14-of-27.
The Notre Dame offense carved open the Seminoles with 458 yards of total offense. The Fighting Irish averaged 7.3 yards per play and nearly 15 yards per completion.
Fundamental errors, lack of gameplan changes again crush the Seminoles
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
The issues for FSU run on and off the field as the loss to Notre Dame again featured multiple failures of fundamental concepts and a lack of in-game adjustments from the Seminoles.
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The typically reliable FSU special teams had its worst performance of the season. Alex Mastromanno had two punts partially blocked and he narrowly escaped having a third disrupted as he was forced into a rushed kick.
Notre Dame had a free runner crashing toward Mastromanno on nearly every punt as the Seminoles were unable to block on special teams.
The Seminoles had six penalties for 56 yards. Issues like 12 men on the field, false starts, missed tackles and more were again present.
On Leonard's second touchdown run, he ran past a few would-be tacklers who put in poor efforts to bring down the quarterback. On more than one occasion FSU was unable to properly wrap up a tackle and that allowed Notre Dame to rack up yards after contact.
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There were no notable adjustments made by the coaching staff, a trend that has continued throughout the season.
Liam Rooney covers Florida State athletics for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at LRooney@gannett.com or on Twitter @__liamrooney
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Riley Leonard, Notre Dame run all over FSU football in blowout loss
