Newsstand: Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard shares Irish's College Football Playoff mindset
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard called the Fighting Irish’s 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois the worst game of his whole life in his Players’ Tribune article that was published Wednesday. Since then? Some of the best football he’s ever played in his life.
It goes like that sometimes. This sport is unpredictable.
Still, Leonard is pretty confidently predicting what will happen for the Irish when they begin the College Football Playoff against Indiana on Friday. Rather, he’s straight up letting everybody know. The Irish are going into their first-round game against Indiana, and beyond, with the utmost confidence in themselves.
“We’re done being afraid of anything — I know that much about this team,” Leonard wrote. “I know that, win or lose, we’re going to do it our way: We’re going to dare greatly.”
Notre Dame isn’t one of the most unlikely playoff participants; this is actually one of the more talented rosters in the field. But after falling to 1-1 in Week 2 with that loss to NIU, many who follow the sport, both closely and casually, probably wrote the Irish off.
Now they seem as well positioned as anyone in the tournament to run the table and win the whole thing. Leonard and Co. wholeheartedly believe that.
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“Yeah, NIU beat us. That’s true. We own that. Maybe anybody can beat us. But we also know we can beat anybody,” Leonard wrote.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
Here’s what the Fighting Irish will wear for the game vs. Indiana on Friday.
It looks like the Irish’s pants might be a sharper color of gold than usual on Friday.
There will be a special dessert available in the stadium Friday night.
Fighting Irish quote of the day
“They’ve been incredible this year with the ability to take the running game away from people. And we know, headed into the game, that’s how we’re built. That’s our foundation. So, we better figure it out before Friday.”
— Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock on the Indiana run defense vs. the Notre Dame rushing offense
Blue & Gold headlines of the day
• Marquee matchup: How Indiana stout run defense will challenge Notre Dame electric rushing attack
• ‘Maniacally obsessed’: Five takeaways from Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua meeting with the media
• Can Notre Dame WR Beaux Collins rediscover early-season form in College Football Playoff?
• What worries Notre Dame OC Mike Denbrock most about Indiana defense
• Is IU a paper tiger? The Notre Dame 3-2-1: 3 numbers, 2 questions, 1 prediction
• Notre Dame defense breaks down what went wrong vs. USC, transition to Indiana
• Charles Jagusah injury update: Irish coaches update status of sophomore OL
• Five things we learned from Indiana week at Notre Dame
• Lucky Charms: On3’s Steve Wiltfong logs prediction for Notre Dame to land new recruit
