Following his transfer from Duke, Riley Leonard learned very quickly how passionate the fanbase of Notre Dame Football is. Some of those fans want Leonard canned for Steve Angeli after Notre Dame’s 23-13 win on the road against Texas A&M on Saturday.
Leonard and the offense were pedestrian in their passing attack. Leonard went 18/30 passing for 158 yards against a stiff Aggies defense. Leonard was a boost on the ground, as he ran 12 times for 63 yards.
Leonard’s ability to run helped the Irish escape with a win in their season opener. However, if Notre Dame wants to make a push in the playoffs this winter, they’re going to have to find a way to push the ball downfield against elite defenses.
Time for Steve Angeli?
The lack of a deep-passing attack had fans begging for Angeli to replace Leonard. Angeli went 15/19 passing for 232 yards and threw three touchdowns in Notre Dame’s 40-8 blowout of a shorthanded Oregon State squad in the Sun Bowl last December.
The Irish made the Sun Bowl after Sam Hartman, a transfer quarterback from Wake Forrest, had a disappointing campaign last season in a few major games.
Some Irish fans are already panicking about Leonard and would prefer to see head coach Marcus Freeman play musical chairs this week and put Angeli under canter against Northern Illinois this week.
There are a few reasons to be patient with Leonard before Week 2.
Notre Dame football: The plan was to get the ball out quickly
Pete Sampson with The Athletic noted offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s strategy against Texas A&M. Notre Dame was using an offensive line that had six starts between the five men up front coming into the game.
That’s a tough ask, as Texas A&M has one of the best defensive lines in college football. Per Sampson, Notre Dame was purposely avoiding long-passing plays because of the expected outcome of the trench battle:
The Denbrock plan got the ball out of Riley Leonard’s hands rapid-fire, essentially asking the line to block for two seconds (or less). Leaning on the quick game nullified any kind of deep shot capability from Leonard. It’s not that Leonard can’t take shots, but he didn’t have an offensive line capable of holding up long enough for that to be sound strategy.
Notre Dame’s average time from snap to pass against Texas A&M was 2.18 seconds, per TruMedia. That’s the shortest time the Irish offense has posted since TruMedia began tracking that stat in 2019, a span of 63 games.
Riley Leonard used his skills to get a win against Texas A&M
Leonard was able to use his strengths to get a win. Where Notre Dame’s offense was sunk when the passing game didn’t work last season with Hartman, Leonard’s ability to run the ball gave the Irish a victory over a Top 25 opponent in one of the hardest places to play a road game.
The opening week of college football typically features sloppy play. There’s no reason to give up on Leonard after a big win over Texas A&M. The key now is for the offensive line to gel in the early season so Leonard can progress his deep-passing abilities as the season goes on.
While Leonard’s playmaking on the ground was good enough to earn the Irish a win on Saturday night, Notre Dame doesn’t have a prayer of going deep in the College Football Playoff until they can find a way to push the ball downfield against elite opponents.
But there’s no guarantee Angeli would be mobile enough to make that happen with where the young offensive line is at.
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