Notre Dame cruises past Florida State 52-3

No one has suffered a harder fall than Florida State.

The Seminoles haven’t reached their lowest point yet either, losing 52-3 to Notre Dame on Saturday night.

“Proud of these guys, proud of the way they prepared,” head coach Marcus Freeman said. “It would have been easy to overlook these guys during their preparation because of their record. I firmly believe that Saturday is a reflection of the preparation.”

Deep in their own zone, with less than two minutes left before halftime, the Irish were still searching. Although they were successful several times, they also had a few three-pointers and it was still a 14-3 game in which Notre Dame was the 22-point favorite.

It appeared another drive had stalled when kicker Mitch Jeter ran to attempt a long field goal. But when Florida State University head coach Mike Norvell called a timeout to try to block the kick, Freeman changed his mind. After halftime, quarterback Riley Leonard and the offense came back into action, surprising the Seminoles when Leonard found Jordan Faison up the middle for a 22-yard pass.

Leonard followed up his fourth goal with a perfect pass that found a struggling Mitchell Evans in the back of the end zone for his first goal of the season. Notre Dame took a 21-3 lead into the halftime locker room, with defense struggling against a faltering Seminole offense.

“You can’t look at the score,” Freeman said. “It’s a privilege to play at this place… it’s a privilege to play for this university. Our audience was truly special. It’s a little different, a night game at Notre Dame Stadium.”

The Irish defense continued its dominant performance in the second half. Rylie Mills used a quick attack to get off the line and tackle quarterback Brock Glenn for his third sack of the game. With 16 yards needed for a first down, Glenn pushed too hard and Jordan Clark read the pass perfectly for his first interception of the year.

“You have to be strong in the middle,” Freeman said. “Rylie achieved individual fame today. But a lot of people contributed to Rylie getting those sacks. When you play well and things go your way, you get recognized.”

Leonard didn’t waste his field position, hitting Jaden Greathouse on a screen that went 20 yards to the Seminoles’ 10-yard line. The quarterback entered the end zone on the next play for a six-yard touchdown.

The Seminoles finally seemed to have some success when Samuel Singleton Jr. caught the defense off guard and exploded up the middle for a 27-yard gain. But any momentum soon disappeared as Donovan Hinish picked up his second sack of the game and Jaylen Sneed forced a turnover on downs with a fourth-down sack.

With 10:21 to play in the game, Leonard placed a perfect back-shoulder fade to Jayden Harrison for 26 yards. After the throw, Florida State’s Earl Leonard Jr. hit Leonard high and cost the Seminoles another 15 yards. After the roughing the passer penalty, Notre Dame found itself in the red zone, but the drive stalled after a sack and an incompletion that dropped Faison’s hands in the end zone. Jeter made the field goal and extended the lead to 31-3.

On the next Irish drive, Jeremiyah Love flashed his hands and made a juggling catch from 13 yards. Greathouse remained involved in the offense, forcing a defensive pass interference call and then following up with a highlight reel catch on a fade down the right sideline for 26 yards. Love capped the drive with a touchdown on his ninth straight game, increasing the score to 38-3.

“The mark of great teams is consistency,” Freeman said. “I challenged them at halftime to stay consistent.”

Steve Angeli came into the game as backup quarterback to start the fourth quarter. He was 3 of 3 on the drive for 33 yards and capped it off with a seven-yard pass to Deion Colzie for a touchdown.

To add insult to injury, Glenn threw an interception to Luke Talich, who returned the ball 79 yards for a pick-six, making it 52-3.

The Irish looked fresh after a bye week and exploded out of the gate. Leonard found Aneyas Williams in the flat and the running back took him 28 yards down the field. Then Leonard broke through the FSU defenders for a 34-yard touchdown run. Jeter added the extra point.

When Florida State got the ball, it didn’t march down the field at the same pace, but got within scoring range with some Irish help. When Jordan Clark was on fourth down, he committed offside calls and saved penalties, extending the drive. The Seminoles found themselves in another four-down situation where Ja’Khi Douglas converted a wildcat snap. But Notre Dame’s defense held strong and forced Glenn into repeated breakdowns, leading to a Ryan Fitzgerald field goal after seven minutes of possession.

For the rest of the first quarter, both teams struggled to move the ball, but after four straight punts, the Irish finally got something going.

Anthony Knapp, returning from an injury early in the game, fielded a double team and allowed Jadarian Price to break through for a 65-yard touchdown run.

Notre Dame’s defense continued to dominate after FSU’s opening score, with constant pressure from the defensive front. Mills added back-to-back sacks to force another Seminole punt.

Florida State’s defense settled down after Price’s score, but Leonard finally found a rhythm in the air. He hit a leaping Harrison, giving him a 21-yard gain. The drive eventually stalled when Azareye’h Thomas interfered with a catch attempt by Harrison.

Notre Dame’s special teams also made an impact considering the frequency of FSU’s punts. Adon Shuler received a punt that rolled only 26 yards, putting the Irish near midfield.

The prime field position didn’t amount to much, however, as three straight runs inside the FSU 30-yard line set up a 42-yard attempt by Jeter that sailed wide left.

Notre Dame returns for its final home game of 2024, hosting Virginia at 3:30 p.m