Perhaps we’ve found the reason — or 1 of the reasons — for Notre Dame’s offensive ineptitude in last Saturday’s stunning 16-14 home loss to Northern Illinois.

Pete Nakos of On3 reports, per multiple sources, that Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard injured the posterior labrum on his non-throwing shoulder in the loss. Leonard is, however, expected to play this Saturday at Purdue, per Nakos.

 

The much-heralded transfer from Duke looked just fine in Week 1, leading the Fighting Irish to a big road victory over Texas A&M. Leonard only threw for 158 yards against the Aggies, but he didn’t have any interceptions.

It was a different story last Saturday against the Huskies, who intercepted Leonard twice and stifled the Notre Dame passing game, holding Leonard to 163 yards through the air and 0 touchdowns.

After Leonard’s 11-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the game, the Irish were largely shut down. Notre Dame didn’t score its other TD until midway through the 3rd quarter.

After 3 seasons at Duke, including a monster 2022 season when he threw for 2,967 yards and rushed for 699 yards while combining for 33 touchdowns through the air and on the ground, Leonard announced last November that he was entering the transfer portal.

A few weeks later, Leonard announced he was transferring to Notre Dame.