Notre Dame vs. Georgia Tech Game Balls
The injury depleted Irish (6-1) played a complete and complementary game Saturday in a 31-13 win over Georgia Tech (5-3).
On offense, Notre Dame out-rushed the Yellow Jackets 168-64.
On defense, the Irish held Georgia Tech to 2.2 yards per rush, and it scored a touchdown on an interception.
And on special teams, the Notre Dame blocked its third field goal of the season, and it picked up first downs on a fake punt and a fake field to secure its fifth-straight victory and improve its odds of making the college football playoff to 63 percent, according to ESPN.com.
The balanced performance made for plenty of game ball candidates. Here are the three we settled on.
Quarterback Riley Leonard
The Irish senior showcased his dual-threat abilities against Georgia Tech with 20-of-29 passing for 203 yards and added 51 yards rushing with 2 touchdowns.
It marked the third time this season that Leonard has scored on multiple touchdown rushes.
Leonard was especially effective in the first half when he went 12-of-14 passing for 127 yards, and added 29 yards and both of his touchdowns on the ground to stake Notre Dame to a 14-7 lead at the break that it never relinquished.
Through parts of the second and third quarters, the Duke transfer completed 12 consecutive passes for 162 yards.
Cornerback Leonard Moore
Starting in place of Irish All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison — who was the lost for the season against Stanford on Aug. 12, with a hip injury — the Irish true freshman wasted no time proving himself as a valuable fill-in when he recorded 7 tackles (5 solo) with 1 tackle for loss — the first of his career — and added 1 pass breakup in the first half in the rout of Georgia Tech.
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The 7 tackles for Moore Saturday tied a career high and gave him 15 stops in the last three games (11 solo).
Running back Jadarian Price
The Irish sophomore led all Irish rushers with 69 yards on 8 carries for an 8.6-yard per-carry average.
It was the second time of his career that Price averaged more than eight yards a carry in a game, and it marked the third-most rushing yards in a single game that he’s posted in 20 career outings.
After getting benched against Louisville following an ill-time fumble, the Irish reserve has responded the last two games against Stanford and Georgia Tech with 20 carries for 118 yards for a 5.9-yard, per-carry average, with 1 touchdown and an increased role in the Irish offense.
