Nov. 6—SOUTH BEND — It’s been nine weeks since Notre Dame’s season was upended at home.
The 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois (a team that has gone 2-4 since) is still being used as motivation inside the Irish locker room. The correlations to Saturday’s nightcap in South Bend are easy to spot as a historically struggling Florida State (1-8) walks in to Notre Dame Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
“It’s a mental preparation and a physical preparation, and we know what the result is when you don’t mentally prepare the right way,” Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said. “We know it. That’s why I always say keep the pain of NIU, because that’s a result of not having the right mindset.”
The Seminoles began the season 10th in the nation following a 13-1 record last season. Many experts predicted Florida State would take a step back, but with a 14-9 win over California as its only passing grade through nine games, it’s safe to say the game provides significantly less in terms of padding Notre Dame’s strength of schedule.
The College Football Playoff committee released its first batch of rankings this season on Tuesday. Notre Dame (7-1) was ranked No. 10 and was behind other one-loss teams such as No. 2 Ohio State (7-1), No. 3 Georgia (7-1), No. 5 Texas (7-1), No. 6 Penn State (7-1), and No. 7 Tennessee (7-1). Out of the six one-loss teams in the top-10, the Irish have the lowest strength of schedule.
The Bulldogs (1), Buckeyes (19), Nittany Lions (28), Volunteers (33) and Longhorns (54) have a better standard than Notre Dame (74). Of the top-10 teams ranked by the CFP committee, only No. 7 Indiana has a worse strength of schedule at 103. The Hoosiers, though, remain unbeaten, and have beaten every team on the schedule by at least two touchdowns.
That’s a signal to the Irish that one more loss, and the chances of making the 12-team bracket at the end of the season drastically changes. Looking over the Seminoles Saturday, as 24-point favorites, would be a grave mistake.
“Listen, it’s a very talented football team and it doesn’t take long to turn on the film and realize how talented they are,” Freeman said. “They might be one of the most talented teams we face all year, and that’s just what the film tells you. The record doesn’t reflect their talent.”
“I even heard it last week on the road recruiting, ‘Oh, you guys got Florida State. They’re struggling,'” Freeman said. “Yes, their record might not be where they want it to be, but I’m not trying to make this team something they’re not. They’re a talented, talented football team, and that’s gonna be my message to the team is that we respect our opponent. You don’t have to watch many plays to realize how talented they are.”
Where Notre Dame should expect to make gains on Saturday is on the ground. Recent opponents have gashed the Seminole defense and have taken advantage of the downtrodden group that was formerly expected to be one of its top defensive units headed into the season. Currently, FSU has the nation’s 114th rushing defense. ND has the 13th-best rushing offense.
Jeremiyah Love had his second 100-plus-yard rushing game of the season two weeks ago against Navy. The back has averaged over six yards per carry this season. As had backfield mate Jadarian Price and quarterback Riley Leonard. Love is only 25 yards ahead of Leonard on the season total.
“I still think our ability to run the ball is something that we have to be able to do,” Freeman said when asked about the team’s offensive identity. “We’ve done a really good job of doing that, which creates some ability to throw the ball down the field. And that’s what we have to continue to do. We still have to be able to run the ball no matter who’s the person running the ball. And be able to take some shots down the field when teams are going to add an extra hat to the box.”
“We’ve really worked on that,” Freeman continued. “We’ve worked the fundamentals of every position on our team. We have to continue to enhance to improve. I still want to be an offense that runs the football, creates explosive plays down the field, takes advantage of those explosive plays. We’ve done that, but we’ve got to continue to get better at it.”
The rushing attack was an early success this season while Leonard worked out the kinks of the pass game under offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock. The transfer experienced pressure early, but the QB has had far less miscues of recent memory, causing arguments over his starter-status to fizzle out. Leonard and Denbrock have seemingly done the work, and it’s starting to be pay off.
“I just think it’s the confidence,” Freeman said. “Starting with the confidence. He has confidence in what he’s being asked to do. He’s making fast decisions. They’re not always perfect. But he’s making fast decisions and confident decisions. We all know he has the ability to tuck the ball and run and create a first down out of nothing, but he’s really doing a great job of building that relationship with Denbrock so they know exactly what each other are thinking and how comfortable each one feels with each call.”
After starting the first three games with zero passing touchdowns, Leonard has now thrown for eight. He’s also thrown just one interception since tossing two in the loss to NIU. More of that, the continued effort for Notre Dame to stay grounded and the reliable defense should all be in line for the Irish to win its seventh-straight game and continue its push for the playoff.
Reach Matt Lucas at 574-533-2151, ext. 240325, or at matt.lucas@goshennews.com.
