Numbers behind Notre Dame’s dominating win over Florida State

Notre Dame dominated Florida State with a 52-3 victory Saturday night as the Irish moved to 8-1 and one step closer to the College Football Playoff.

As great as Saturday night was, it wasn’t one where Notre Dame shot out of the gate and immediately took a multiple-point lead. Instead, it was all about scoring goals right from the start, a stifling defense took control and more points followed in a big way.

How did Notre Dame beat Florida State on Saturday night?

Here are five numbers that tell the story of Notre Dame’s 52-3 victory.

5. Notre Dame vs. Florida State: 5 explosive passes

Notre Dame’s downfield passing game continues to improve as the year progresses. Saturday night was far from perfect, but it was another significant step in the right direction. Ten different targets caught passes for Notre Dame on Saturday night, but perhaps the biggest number in receptions was Riley Leonard had five different passes that went 20 yards or more against the Seminoles.

4. Notre Dame vs. Florida State: 15 yards

Notre Dame’s secondary was promoted as one of the best in the country entering the 2024 season and has lived up to those expectations through nine games. How good was it on Saturday evening?

Florida State completed just 10 passes for 88 yards. Perhaps the most telling statistic about Florida State’s passing woes, however, was that the longest pass of the night was just 15 yards (and Notre Dame already led 28-3).

3. Notre Dame vs. Florida State: 208 yards allowed

For the fifth time in 2024, Notre Dame allowed fewer than 250 total yards on Saturday night. To be precise, Florida State’s total yardage was 208 yards.

The last time Notre Dame held five different opponents to fewer than 250 yards of offense in a single season?

1988.

2. Notre Dame vs. Florida State: 49 points

Florida State has been playing football for a long time, but has never lost a regular season game by more points than Saturday night in South Bend.

The 52-3 victory marked the third time in Florida State history that the Seminoles lost a regular-season game by 49 points, most recently against Clemson in 2018. Notre Dame played very well in this game, but yeah, at the same time Florida State is really that bad.

1. Notre Dame vs. Florida State: 8 sacks

Notre Dame’s secondary performance is outstanding, as mentioned above, but that’s in part because the defense continues to play at a high level. Despite playing most of the game without perhaps its most important defensive lineman, Howard Cross, Notre Dame made life miserable for Florida State’s quarterbacks.

Notre Dame recorded eight total sacks Saturday night, three of which came from Rylie Mills and two from Donovan Hinish. It all starts at the front, where Notre Dame’s defense is in full force to dominate on Saturday.

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