Leonard and Notre Dame are happy about the work and worried about the win over USC

The way Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard was persuaded Saturday after the game to put a redemptive frame on what he has become and instead focus the narrative on the possibilities and the work ahead of him something promising.

And for the first time since the pandemic-ravaged 2020 season, the Irish football program actually has something meaningful to hope for beyond November, and without any connection to sugary breakfast foods.

Not that it isn’t sweet.

And perhaps the least obvious positive came from Saturday’s 49-35 loss to arch-rival USC in Los Angeles that sent No. 5 ND (11-1) into the first-ever 12-team version of the College Football Playoff There were scary moments for the Irish in the fourth quarter and throughout the game.

And how they handled it at the LA Memorial Coliseum in front of 73,241 spectators.

By crushing them.

It’s exactly what a team with the second-longest active winning streak (10 games) had to experience before losing on April 20-21. Heading into the opening first-round playoffs on December 21 – presumably at Notre Dame Stadium – despite the constant pressure of having played essentially elimination games since a surprising home loss to Northern Illinois on September 7th.

And it had to go up against a quarterback like USC sophomore Jayden Maiava, who isn’t afraid to throw the ball downfield on the team that ranked No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency defense. And a team that could throw talented players in waves against the second-best defense in the FBS.

And that had enough transfer portal finds and enough schematic overhauls on defense to play within seven points of all 11 of its previous opponents, including Penn State’s mid-October extension.

In the highest-scoring version of the 95 games played by ND and USC (6-6) in their annual cross-country grudge match, the Irish leaned heavily on the morning of Sept. 8 on what they took a leap of faith after the world for the outsiders seemed to sink.

“In college football, everyone wants to talk about culture,” Leonard said. “Everyone wants to say they have a great football culture. I think this place is different. It starts at the top. You have a guy like the (head) coach (Marcus) Freeman, who enters the facility every day and knows every person’s name.

“And he told me he was asking himself, ‘What do I have to do today?’ Who do I have to be to advance this program? He asks himself that every day. And it’s clear that he’s perfect for this program.

“He’s a great leader for these young men. And everyone on their team supports each other, and it starts from the top down.”

And it now seems to flow through every corpuscle.

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How else to explain how an Irish defense whose code had seemingly finally been cracked as USC fought to tie the score late in the fourth quarter, only to have that threat fended off with a school-record 99-yard interception return for a touchdown, a hitherto struggling one Irish second-year cornerback Christian Gray?

And then about two minutes later, at 1:18, All-America safety Xavier Watts breaks that record with a 100-yard pick-6 before the Trojans added a cosmetic score with 13 seconds left to make the lead 21 points shortened again to 14.

In USC’s six possessions leading up to that late score, USC capitalized on a short-field opportunity on one of them, but the other five ended with two punts, a turnover on downs – defended by Watts – and the two pick- 6s.

“It’s amazing,” Leonard said of the defensive closeout. “I am, of course, their biggest fan. Every time they step on the field, I am sure you all have confidence in them. I have extreme Trust in them because I’m the one who had to play against them in fall camp. It was just a nightmare, so man, it was incredible. These guys are great.”

But it might not have been enough if Leonard hadn’t continued to develop into a freeman player and offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock believed he could be when they fished him out of the transfer portal last winter.

For his part, Leonard completed 17 of 22 passes for 155 yards and touchdowns to eight ends Mitchell Evans and Eli Raridon. He also ran for 50 yards on 12 carries and scored his 14th rushing TD of the season by powering his way into the end zone and scoring the tying score Brandon Wimbush Single-season school record.

He finished the regular season with the third-best single-season completion percentage in school history (.662).

“He’s special,” Freeman said of Leonard. “From the moment he got here, I knew he was special. He had to learn to deal with the ups and downs that come with being a quarterback at Notre Dame.

“You hear me say all the time: There is no difference between the head coach and the quarterback at Notre Dame. He experienced ups and downs in the first two weeks of the season and continued to fight. He continued to prepare. I knew from the beginning that he was the right quarterback to lead this program.”

Leonard threw an interception, just his fifth of the season and third since throwing twice in the 16-14 loss to the Huskies in Week 2.

“Someone on the sideline said (USC’s John Humphrey) had enough time to make a fair catch,” the self-deprecating Leonard said. “Yeah, I have to work on that. I take great pride in protecting football. That can’t happen.

“As far as reaction goes, that’s what Coach Freeman talks about all the time: ‘Reload.’ Reload. Reload. Win the break, reload. Win the break, reload.’”

The Irish defense forced a four-and-out. Leonard passed twice, then his next pass was a 23-yard TD strike to Evans, who had five receptions on his season. That includes a 23-yard catch-and-run from walk-on wide receiver/scout team QB Tyler Buchner.

“We lost to NIU for 84 days,” Leonard said. “And I kind of said to myself, ‘We can win.’ We may lose, but I will never leave the field with regrets again. And I feel like regret arises missed Opportunities, not missed opportunities.

“I feel like I missed opportunities at the start of the season, which is a regret. Like I didn’t throw that ball, or that I wasn’t that confident, or that I got out of that game because I didn’t like it that much. Whether we win or lose this game, I’m going home with no regrets. I let the ball fly a little. So, yes. 84 days. It’s crazy.”

Jeremiyah Love was on his way to a monster game when he left the game midway through the third quarter with an undisclosed injury that Freeman wasn’t asked about in the postgame press conference.

The sophomore still managed 99 yards on 13 carries and scored a rushing touchdown for the 12th straight game Wayne Bullocks 50-year school record. Love also had three catches for 38 yards.

Junior Jadarian Price picked up where Love left off, rushing for a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. As a team, the Irish averaged 6.8 receiving yards and are on pace to break the school record for yards per carry in a single season (6.3).

“The challenge before the game was that we had to win this game at the line of scrimmage,” Freeman said. “We have to win this game up front and recognize the different pressure they bring on defense. I think our offensive linemen did a great job of recognizing, really communicating and executing.

“They played a physical, physical affair up front. They kept coming off the field saying, ‘Keep running, coach.’ Keep running.’ This is a confident group that played extremely well today.”

The Irish have problems that need to be sorted out and addressed. Some of them will be helped by All-American nose guard Howard Cross III (ankle) eventually returning to the lineup and by kicker Mitch Jeter getting healthy and confident.

Although the South Carolina graduate made all seven PATs on Saturday, his miss of a 27-yard field goal in the second quarter puts the Irish in the first half – between Jeter and walk-ons Zac Yoakam And Marcello Diomede — a collective 3-of-11 since Jeter suffered a hip injury on Oct. 12 against Stanford.

The little problems can wait. The Irish will receive a progress report on what matters Tuesday night when the College Football Playoff Selection Committee releases its penultimate rankings. The final set will appear on Sunday, December 8th, as will the 12-team bracket and whoever takes ND’s spot, which it didn’t want to downplay in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

The Irish project to be at least a No. 4 seed on Tuesday and ultimately a No. 5 or 6 seed in the tournament, with the top four spots reserved for the conference champions.

“I knew from the start of training camp that we had a chance to have a special program,” said Freeman, who has now won 80% of his November games, his highest win percentage since then Ara Parseghian (1964-74). “But it’s a process. You have to build it. We had the highest ups and downs in the first two weeks of the season, but they just kept preparing and decided to put in the work and not feel bad about it.

“They also believed in themselves. I knew this team was a really good team. I told you earlier that it was the most talented squad I’ve had since I’ve been here. But we had to become a good team. Squad talent is one thing. We have developed into a good team.”

And the Irish have taken advantage of an opportunity that they will begin to explore in three weeks How Good.

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