SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dominated defense and made easy work of a disappointing Florida State team en route to a 52-3 victory over the Seminoles Saturday night at Stadium Our Lady.

No. 10 Notre Dame (8-1) kept the Seminoles (1-9) out of the end zone all night and collected eight sacks, including a career-high three by Rylie Mills, in the victory brilliant.

The Irish ran the ball and scored their first touchdown less than two minutes into the game on a five-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by a 34-yard rushing (and diving) touchdown run by the quarterback -fullback Riley Leonard.

Florida State responded with a 16-play drive that ended with a 23-yard field goal. But that would be the only score for the Seminoles, who went 3 for 17 on the night on third down.

Jadarian Price pushed the Irish lead to 14-3 on a 65-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Price was initially called out of bounds at the 4-yard line, but it was overruled after a review revealed he was using excellent footwork to stay inbounds.

Notre Dame made it 21-3 just before halftime on a 12-yard pass from Leonard to tight end Mitchell Evans, his first score of the season.

Florida State’s first offensive drive of the second half ended with a Jordan Clark interception. Six plays later, Leonard rumbled into the end zone from six yards out for his second rushing score of the night.

A 28-yard field goal by Mitch Jeter made the score 31-3 just before the fourth quarter. The Irish kicker has been out since Notre Dame’s win over Stanford on Oct. 12 due to a right hip injury.

Jeremiah Love found the end zone early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run, giving him one rushing touchdown in all nine games this season.

Notre Dame would add two more touchdowns before all was said and done, first on a 7-yard pass from backup quarterback Steve Angeli to Deion Colzie. Then, with Florida State threatening to find the end zone for the first time all night, Luke Talich returned an interception 79 yards to the house to cap the victory with an exclamation point.

While the Irish defense punished the Seminoles, the Irish inflicted even more misery on the other side of the ball racking up 453 total yards of offense. Leonard finished 14 of 27 passing for 215 yards and had another 70 yards rushing. Price led all rushers with 95 yards, including 84 on the same drive that ended with his 65-yard score.

Notre Dame defensive tackle Howard Cross III left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury and did not return. We’ll likely get an update on his injury status next Monday during head coach Marcus Freeman’s weekly press conference.

The Fighting Irish will host Virginia next Saturday in their final game of the season at Notre Dame Stadium. Kickoff for this game is set for 3:30 PM EST right here on WNDU.

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