Notre Dame Overcomes Sleepy Start to Beat Miami: Instant Takeaways

Notre Dame football won by a comfortable score against Miami (Ohio) but it was anything but pretty

Nick Shepkowski | Sep 21, 2024

Sep 21, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman prepares to lead his players onto the field for the game against the Miami Redhawks at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting Irish

It wasn't pretty whatsoever but it was enough for a 28-3 Notre Dame win over Miami University on Saturday. The traditional box score shows a rather one-sided affair, and the feeling is certainly better than it was two weeks ago after losing at home to Northern Illinois, but it wasn't exactly impressive, either.

Notre Dame is 3-1 despite some of the ugliness that was shown on Saturday. What has become the biggest home game of the season comes next week with Louisville coming to town. Will Notre Dame improve on enough of the issues that showed their heads against Miami?

Here are the instant takeaways from Notre Dame's 28-3 victory over the Miami RedHawks.

Lesson Not Learned by Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame?

Offensive miscues, lack of sustained drives, penalties, special teams lapses, and a defense that couldn't stop the run. That was the story of the first 24 or so minutes of Saturday's game against Miami University.

If Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman were supposed to have learned something against Northern Illinois two weeks ago, it certainly didn't show it early against the RedHawks.

Riley Leonard's Rough Start for Notre Dame vs. Miami (Ohio)

Riley Leonard's final line Saturday looked the part of a star. 16 of 25 passing (64%), 154 yards, and a touchdown pass while rushing for 143 yards and two scores.

There is no kind way to describe Riley Leonard's start to Saturday's game as he was bad. Through his first 10 passes he was averaging under four yards per pass attempt with several misfires that stunted drives and kept this game more interesting than it should have been.

Riley Leonard Bounces Back for Notre Dame

TOUCHDOWN IRISH

1️⃣3️⃣ ➡️ 5️⃣#GoIrish☘️ | @beaux_collins | @rileyleonard13_ pic.twitter.com/INzcY8Cfv0
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 21, 2024

Late in the first half the crowd was so frustrated with Riley Leonard that it started chants for backup quarterback Steve Angeli. To Leonard's credit, he found his way as the afternoon progressed.

After being aided by a few pass interference calls late in the first half, Leonard connected with Beaux Collins on a nearly perfect thrown ball for a 38-yard touchdown pass. It isn't a game that is going to win Leonard any awards but for as bad as he was for a quarter and a half Saturday, he did bounce back and deserves credit for rising to the occasion when the crowd was voicing their displeasure with his performance.

James Rendell Shows Up for Notre Dame

The Notre Dame special teams have left a good amount to be desired in 2024, including having another field goal attempt blocked on Saturday. One bright spot in the special teams department though was punter James Rendell who easily had his best game to date at Notre Dame.

Rendell punted four times for 189 yards, averaging just shy of 50 yards per kick. He had a long of 54 yards and was significantly better than he was at any point to date this season.

Overall Solid Defensive Play for Notre Dame

That’s an Irish WIN#GoIrish☘️ | @Gatorade pic.twitter.com/7V95cMZxSR
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 21, 2024

The start wasn't what anybody wanted for Notre Dame in any department and the defense doesn't escape that. Miami came in averaging just 32 rushing yards per game and passed that with ease in the first quarter.

However, Notre Dame only allowed just 229 total yards on the day and gave up just 119 passing yards with Miami going a just 2-13 combined on third and fourth downs for the afternoon.