Riley Leonard Has to Throw Better for Notre Dame to Beat Louisville

Riley Leonard has been great on the ground, but the passing has GOT to be better

Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Riley Leonard (13) crosses into the end zone for a touchdown Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, during the NCAA football game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind. Notre Dame Fighting Irish won 66-7. / Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Yes, Notre Dame won by 25.

Yes, Riley Leonard ran well. Really, really well.

But several things can be true and in play at once.

After a rough showing from Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard against Miami University on Saturday throwing the ball, questions have to be asked about the Irish signal caller ... again.

Louisville comes to town next week. That's a test with an average quarterback, and as it stands, at least throwing the ball, Leonard has not even been that.

Through four games, Leonard simply hasn't improved in his ability to be a consistent passer.

In Game One, sure, we all convinced ourselves that the gameplan was to not air it out and just to run it down the throat of Texas A&M early and often. The gameplan worked and allowed Notre Dame to escape College Station undefeated.

All is great, right? Not so much.

Leonard was terrible against Northern Illinois the following week and not much better in the rout of Purdue. Some will say that is harsh on Leonard considering he ran for three touchdowns, but we knew he could do that. Notre Dame does not struggle to run the ball.

As it stands, the Irish struggle in a BIG way to throw it. Leonard finally threw his first passing touchdown on a beautiful ball to Beaux Collins against Miami. Now there needs to be more of that.

Notre Dame has tough games down the stretch, including Louisville, Georgia Tech and USC. It can not be completely one dimensional in any of those if it expects to win and run the table to go 11-1.

The goal before the season, and after Game 1, was still to go undefeated with a prolific offense and make a run at the College Football Playoff. Now, after being humbled by two MAC schools,

Notre Dame and its entire offensive operation need to take a look in the mirror and realize that Riley Leonard has not been what he was supposed to be yet.

Do they wait it out with him and hope he improves or make a switch?

Winning the rest of the games on the schedule and making the playoff will require Notre Dame to be able to run it and throw it. As it stands, each of the three quarterbacks behind Riley Leonard give the Irish offense a better chance to do that than Leonard.

Leonard's running ability is awesome and is a great part of the offense, but there will be times where it is not enough. Maybe at least roatate a bit? Maybe see if one of the other options can add more to the pasisng game?

Freeman will be as reluctant as you can imagine to pull Leonard from being the starter, but at some point with the current pass offense floundering, Notre Dame will drop another game it shouldn't and will miss the playoff.

Running is great, but now there needs to be more. Leonard and the offensive operation need to improve, now.