Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard will pay a “toll” for running the ball

BLOOMINGTON – Indiana football didn’t have a true dual-threat quarterback this season.

That will change for the Hoosiers (11-1) in the first round of the College Football Playoff against Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard. The Duke transfer was one of only six Power Four quarterbacks this season with at least 1,900 passing yards and 650 rushing yards.

“He’s an excellent player,” Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said. “I’ve been watching him for a few years and studying Duke offense when he was at Duke. He is a competitor and he throws the ball well. He has good movement skills and good size.”

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Leonard has averaged 5.5 yards per carry in 39 career games and has the second-most career rushing touchdowns (33) among active FBS quarterbacks. He had 16 of them in 2024 and finished the year with multiple touchdowns in four of the team’s final five games.

“When you play Notre Dame offensively, it starts with the running game, and the quarterback is a big part of the running game,” Cignetti said. “Not just on the designed quarterback runs, but also when he drops back and is in the pocket and escapes the pocket and his ability to make plays with his arms and legs.”

Notre Dame has the 10th-ranked rushing offense in the country (224.8 yards per game) heading into the College Football Playoff and is one of only three FBS teams to average more than six yards per attempt (6.3 yards per carry). ) achieved.

In addition to Leonard, the Irish rely on two running backs – Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. The group tied for the fourth-most runs of 30 yards or more this season (16).

Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines, a finalist for the Broyles Award given annually to the nation’s top assistant, memorized most of those statistics as he spoke to reporters Monday afternoon.

“It’s a very good rushing attack,” he said.

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Leonard reveals a lot about what Notre Dame wants to do, but don’t be surprised if IU’s schedule doesn’t look entirely different on Friday night.

“You can’t stop the run if they want to let the quarterback run,” Haines said. “I mean, you would have to be so aggressive to stop the run that you would put other parts of the defense in danger.”

He won’t abandon his core principles – IU’s defense features an aggressive style of play that focuses on driving the front seven downhill into the opponent’s backfield – with an emphasis on Leonard paying a “tribute” every time , if he decides to carry the ball.

“We have different things we can do, whether it’s blitzing or mixing up the looks,” Haines said. “He can run some, and he probably will, and he’ll probably get some yards, but he’ll also get some hits from the Hoosiers.”

Haines’ plan has withstood the run all season.

Indiana boasts the best rushing defense in the country – the Hoosiers held opposing teams to 70.8 rushing yards per game – and allowed the fewest runs of 10 yards or more (26) of 134 FBS teams. They set a single-game record by holding Purdue to minus-36 rushing yards and giving up more than 100 rushing yards only four times. They also ranked 20th in the FBS with 86 tackles for loss.

The magic number for IU on Friday night might be holding Notre Dame to fewer than 200 yards on the ground.

The Irish are 18-0 under coach Marcus Freeman, who has a 30-9 overall record when rushing for 200 or more yards. They averaged 112.7 rushing yards per game in those nine losses. The program hasn’t lost a game rushing for at least 200 yards since No. 19 Virginia Tech in 2016.

Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek Click here to read all of his coverage.

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