Irish Stifle Miami (OH), 28-3

The University of Notre Dame football team (3-1) defeated Miami OH (0-3) 28-3 on a warm and sunny late fall day at Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish defense stifled the RedHawk attack all day, holding Miami to just 229 total yards and two-of-12 on third down. 

Notre Dame led 14-3 at halftime, then added two more scores in the second half, led by 143 yards rushing and two touchdowns from quarterback Riley Leonard. Leonard also connected with Beaux Collins on a 38-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. 

Freshman defensive end Boubacar Traore highlighted the Irish defensive effort. In his first career start, Traore tied for the team lead with five tackles, a career-best two sacks, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry. 

“I am proud of the way our guys competed,” Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman said after the game. “It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t clean. But to beat that football team, 28-3, I told (they team), that’s a really good victory. I think they are going to be a really

good team. I told Coach (Chuck) Martin after the game, that’s a good football team. I’m really impressed with their offense, their quarterback. So to hold that offense to three points, man, was a huge, huge sign of the way our defense had played.”

HOW IT HAPPENED

Notre Dame earned a defensive stop on Miami’s first possession, but Jordan Faison, in his first game back from an ankle injury, muffed his reception of the punt at the Notre Dame 26-yard line. The RedHawks moved the ball to the five-yard line looking to score, but Christian Gray jumped a slant route, popped the ball up in the air and Junior Tuihalamaka made a diving catch for his first career interception to end the threat. 

The Irish did not move the ball on their next possession, but James Rendell flipped the field with a 53-yard punt. Miami earned two first downs on their next drive before the Irish defense stepped up to end another drive. On third and two at the Irish 32-yard line, Miami attempted a quick swing pass that was swallowed up for a four-yard loss by Tuihalamaka. The RedHawks called a timeout to draw up play, but Adon Shuler knocked away a fourth-down pass to give the Irish the ball back. 

On the first play on the drive, Leonard looked deep to Mitchell Evans who drew a 15-yard pass interference penalty. Then Jadarian Price burst left for 14 yards to the Miami 35-yard line. The drive would stall there, however, after two incomplete passes and a holding call. Mitch Jeter entered the game to attempt a 51-yard field goal but the snap was low and mishandled. Jeter picked up the ball, rolled right and threw it away to save Notre Dame 20-30 yards of field position. 

That field position would be key as Miami put together a 10-play drive down to the Irish five-yard line before the Irish defense would force them off the field. Benjamin Morrison perfectly defended two fade routes on first and third down, while Jordan Clark made a key open field tackle on second down. Miami’s 26-yard field goal was true and the RedHawks took the lead 3-0. 

Notre Dame pulled out the reverse return on the kick off, as Jayden Harrison handed the ball off to Jeremiyah Love who burst out past the 40-yard line but a block in the back penalty ended up burying the Irish on their own five-yard line. Three short runs later, Notre Dame punted again, this time Rendell providing a career-best 54-yard effort. 

Howard Cross III effectively ended Miami’s next drive with a second-down sack to get the ball right back to the Irish offense. Notre Dame then compiled its first scoring drive of the game, helped by a pass interference and face mask penalty from Miami. The Irish running backs set the tone on the drive, with Price (twice) and Love (once) rushing for more than eight yards on first down. Leonard followed up with short first down passes to Jayden Thomas, Harrison and then Thomas again in the red zone. Leonard capped the drive with a cut back eight-yard touchdown run on a designed quarterback keeper. 

The Irish defense earned another quick stop again, highlighted by another pass defense from Shuler, this time deep down the right sidelines. 

Notre Dame took over at its own 19-yard line and quickly put together another scoring effort. Leonard kept the ball around the right side for 21 yards, then hit Evans for 14 yards to the Miami 38-yard line. On the next snap, Leonard stepped back and found Collins in stride down the right sidelines five yards behind the nearest defender. Collins caught the ball at the two and easily scored to give the Irish a 14-3 lead at halftime. 

The Irish received the ball in the second half and looked to be in position to score yet again. On the third play of the drive, Leonard faked a hand off and kept the ball around the left side for a 43-yard run. Miami hustled, however, and punched the ball out of Leonard’s hand. The RedHawks won a battle for the football to take over at their own 14-yard line. 

The Miami offense would not move far, however. On third and one, Jaylen Sneed came crashing down the line to stop the runner for no gain and force a punt. 

Notre Dame earned one first down on their next drive before a second-down sack from Miami forced the third Irish punt of the game. The RedHawks attempted to test the Irish defensive backfield again deep on their first play but Christian Gray made the smooth interception at the Notre Dame 40-yard line. 

Another pass interference call on Miami moved the ball to the 27-yard line for Notre Dame. Harrison nabbed a perimeter catch and run on third down for 12 yards to earn a first down at the 15-yard line, then Love finished it off with a burst up the middle for a touchdown. 

The two teams traded possessions before Miami compiled a possible scoring drive. Moving 59 yards in 13 plays into the red zone, the drive was ended by linebacker Drayk Bowen’s first career sack on a blitz up the middle. The big 12-yard loss forced a 49-yard field goal attempt which was blocked by freshman Bryce Young. 

Notre Dame took over at its own 39-yard line and moved into a fourth-and-short scenario at midfield. Leonard kept the ball after a fake and burst through a huge hole up the middle, running untouched for 50 yards and a touchdown. The 50-yard run capped a 143-yard rushing day for Leonard who became the first Irish quarterback since Carlyle Holiday in 2001 to rush for over 100 yards in back-to-back games. 

The defense earned yet another stop on the next Miami drive and the Irish back ups entered the game eventually draining the final four minutes of the game.