Notre Dame vs. Florida State Game Balls
As a 25-point favorite Saturday night, No. 10 Notre Dame started sluggishly against Florida State while building only a 7-3 lead after one quarter.
But a big-play offense and a smothering Irish defense squashed any early worries from there, and led to a dominating 52-3 Irish win, a seventh straight Notre Dame victory to keep playoff hopes alive.
The dominating performance provided plenty of candidates for game balls, here are the three we settled on.
Defensive lineman Rylie Mills
Double-team blocking schemes from opponents this season have cut into the statistical numbers for the Irish graduate.
But when afforded more one-and-one pass rushing opportunities against Florida State, Mills made good, big time, recording a season-high 5 tackles with a career-high 3 sacks, doubling his sack total for the season to 6.
Two of Mills’ sacks came on consecutive plays early in the second quarter that helped the Irish flip possession, keep momentum and blow open what was a precarious 14-3 lead at the time.
It marked the third time in his five-year career that Mills recorded at least 2 sacks in a game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard
In a little over three quarters of play, the Irish senior showcased his dual-threat abilities again, and his steady improvement in the passing game, in an efficient 14-of-27 performance through the air for 215 yards with 1 touchdown and zero interceptions.
Leonard added 70 rushing yards on 11 carries with 2 touchdowns, marking the 8th straight game that the Irish signal-caller has recorded a rushing touchdown this season.
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Leonard’s all-purpose performance gave him 9 passing touchdowns and a team-best 13 rushing scores this season.
Leonard remains well ahead of pace to break the single-season Irish quarterback record of 14 rushing touchdowns, set by Brandon Wimbush in 2017.
Defensive lineman Donovan Hinish
Taking advantage of an overwhelmed FSU offensive line, the Irish junior enjoyed the best game of his career, tying his career high with 5 tackles, including a career-best 2 sacks.
The valuable reserve entered the game with 1.5 sacks for his career, and he had not recorded more than 2 tackles in a game in the last five outings this season.
The 2 sacks by Hinish were part of an 8-sack effort by the Notre Dame defense that NBC Television reported as tying the most in a single game in program history.
