Riley Leonard runs for 2 TDs, throws a TD pass and No. 10 Notre Dame beats Florida State 52-3

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) Riley Leonard rushed for two touchdowns, passed for 215 yards and a touchdown and No. 10 Notre Dame made more misery for Florida State by beating the Seminoles 52-3 on Saturday night.

Notre Dame (8-1) managed 453 yards of total offense. The Fighting Irish defense had eight sacks and two additional tackles for a loss.

Notre Dame's win, its largest in a rivalry characterized by close finishes, evened the series at 6-6.

“Man, I’m proud of these guys,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “Proud of the way they prepared. When you watch the film, you know you're playing against a talented group, but based on the record, you could have easily overlooked these guys in terms of preparation.”

“But we have a mature group,” Freeman said. “We have a lot of seniors that continue to lead this group in the right way and I truly believe Saturday is a reflection of preparation and they are preparing in the right way. They have the right mentality and they really go out and play well.

Leonard gained 215 yards passing with 70 yards to go. For his first touchdown, the senior quarterback broke through the left side, sprinted 34 yards and leaped into the end zone to cap Notre Dame's first drive. In the third quarter, he broke through Florida State's defense for a 6-yard touchdown run.

Jadarian Price ran 65 yards for Notre Dame's second touchdown, and tight end Mitchell Evans caught a 12-yard pass from Leonard for a touchdown that extended Notre Dame's lead to 21-3 at halftime.

Jeremiyah Love scored from the 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Steve Angeli completed the scoring with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Deion Colzie.

A 79-yard pick six from Luke Talich with 1:23 to play put the exclamation point on the Notre Dame victory.

Florida State (1-9) rushed 75 yards on 16 plays, setting up a 23-yard field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald in the first quarter. The Seminoles managed just 37 yards combined on their next seven drives.

Notre Dame's defense punished Florida State quarterbacks Brock Glenn and Luke Kromenhoek with eight sacks for minus-81 yards. Glenn was 5 of 18 passing for 51 yards and two interceptions. Kromenhoek was 5 of 8 passing for 37 yards.

Rylie Mills led Notre Dame with three sacks.

“We’re all disappointed,” Florida State coach Mike Norvell said. “This is not the result we expected. This is not part of what we want our program to look like. The boys fought the whole time. Praise the opponent for what he has achieved. It’s a season full of results that make us sick, but we still have to make a decision about how we want to finish – and that means work and getting better.”

Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III left the game in the second quarter with an apparent ankle injury. Cross limped off the field and did not return. He leads Notre Dame with four sacks this season.

Florida State: The Seminoles are doomed to nothing better than a three-win season with a 1-9 record and two games left. Florida State's last three-win season was the COVID-shortened 2020 season, when the Seminoles were 3-6. This season could be the team's lowest win total in a full season since Florida State was 3-8 in 1975.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will need to finish strong against Virginia, Army and Southern California and get some help to compete in the College Football Playoff. One misstep, however, and the Fighting Irish could face a few restless nights before the selection is announced.

Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish will likely move up in the rankings after Georgia and Miami losses.

Notre Dame hosts Virginia on Saturday.

Florida State has a bye week before hosting Charleston Southern on November 23rd.

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