Ad Disclosure
Riley Leonard shed some light on the trick play Notre Dame ran in the 4th quarter of its win over Georgia while speaking with reporters on Thursday night.
Facing a 4th and short midway through the 4th quarter, Notre Dame sent the punt unit out only to reverse course and bring the offense back out onto the field. After chaotically substituting its defense back on the field, Georgia’s defensive line jumped offsides — extending Notre Dame’s drive.
The result was that Notre Dame was able to eat several additional minutes off the clock before punting it back to Georgia, effectively ending any hope of a comeback for the Bulldogs. Notre Dame went on to win by the score of 23-10.
After the game, Marcus Freeman was asked about the play call. After initially deflecting credit, Leonard set the record straight.
“That was completely his play and we were going to do it a different way like 2 days ago,” Leonard said. “And then he flipped it and we executed it that way and it worked. So he’s being humble like all throughout the year, but … I’ll say it for him. Great call, great execution.”
Here’s a clip of the moment shared between quarterback and head coach:
In any case, it was a brilliant play design that worked to perfection when Notre Dame needed it to. The Fighting Irish will now face Penn State in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 9.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
