Leonard passes for 3 TDs and No. 8 Notre Dame forces 5 turnovers in a 35-14 win over Virginia

Jeremiyah Love ran for 102 yards, scored two touchdowns and extended his streak of rushing for a TD to eight games in leading No. 12 Notre Dame to a 51-14 victory over No. 24 Navy, knocking the uncharacteristically mistake-prone Midshipmen from the unbeaten ranks.

Plenty of playoff contenders suddenly find themselves dealing with major injuries to notable players as the college football season reaches its halfway point.

Marcus Freeman still has not mastered the most underrated part of being a college football coach at a blue-blood school: Beat the teams you’re supposed to beat.

Kanon Woodill hit a 35-yard field goal with 31 seconds to play, Cade Haberman blocked a 62-yard try as time expired and Northern Illinois stunned No. 5 Notre Dame 16-14 on Saturday.

Notre Dame has suspended its men’s swimming program for at least one year after an external review found members of the team violated NCAA rules by wagering among themselves on results of their competitions.

Although Notre Dame made only 1 of 4 free throws in the final minute, the Hokies final two possessions ended in a turnover and a missed 3-pointer.

Beekman, Groves lift Virginia past Notre Dame 65-53, extending home winning streak to 22

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman hasn't changed his mind about Clemson football.

Sam Hartman threw for four touchdowns in his Notre Dame debut and the No. 13 Fighting Irish routed Navy 42-3 in a season-opening victory in Ireland’s capital.

Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner has committed to Alabama, where he will be reunited with former Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.

Grant Basile is the first Hokie to score 30 points in back-to-back games since 2003.

Sonia Citron made a career-high six 3-pointers.

Tyler Buchner accounted for five touchdowns to help offset two interceptions returned for TDs, and No. 19 Notre Dame beat 20th-ranked South Carolina 45-38 in a wild TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

No. 5 Southern California capped its outstanding regular season under new coach Lincoln Riley by staying firmly in the College Football Playoff race with a 38-27 victory over No. 13 Notre Dame.

Steven Gilmore returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter and Khalan Labron ran for 163 yards as Marshall shocked No. 8 Notre Dame 26-21.

C.

Cormac Ryan scored a career-high 29 points and 11th-seeded Notre Dame recovered from a grueling First Four win and late-night flight to beat sixth-seeded Alabama 78-64 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Hokies started the game on a 10-2 run.

Michigan coach Juwan Howard returns from a five-game suspension as the Wolverines face Indiana at Indianapolis in a Big Ten Tournament game with major ramifications for both teams.

The Hokies overcame a 10 point second half deficit for the win, snapping a six-game win streak by the Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame has promoted defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to replace Brian Kelly as head coach of the Fighting Irish.

Michigan moved up to No. 2 in the second-to-last College Football Playoff rankings.

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick says he won’t be rushed into finding a replacement for football coach Brian Kelly no matter where the team is going in the postseason.

LSU is hiring Brian Kelly away from Notre Dame.

Jack Coan threw for 285 yards and two touchdowns in a little more than a half and No. 6 Notre Dame had two defensive touchdowns in winning its sixth straight game, 55-0 over beleaguered Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Jonathan Doerer kicked a 48-yard field goal with 17 seconds remaining, capping a dramatic rally to give No. 14 Notre Dame a 32-29 victory over Virginia Tech on Saturday night.

Kyren Williams scored two long touchdowns, the second a 51-yard run with 6:05 remaining, as No. 12 Notre Dame held off Purdue 27-13 for its 26th straight victory at home.

Jack Coan hit Michael Mayer for an 18-yard touchdown pass with 1:09 remaining for the third lead change in a wild fourth quarter and No. 8 Notre Dame held off Toledo 32-29.

Notre Dame and Iowa State each has three players on The Associated Press preseason All-America team.

The Fighting Irish complete the weekend sweep over the Hokies with the win on Sunday.

Charlottesville, Va. – Jay Huff scored 18 points and Sam Hauser had 15 points and nine rebounds as No. 18 Virginia beat Notre Dame 80-68 for its fourth consecutive victory. The 7-foot-1 Huff made a career-best four 3-pointers - all in the first half - as the 8-2 Cavaliers opened an 18-10 lead and built it to 37-25 by halftime. Cormac Ryan scored 16 and Trey Wertz 13 for the 3-8 Fighting Irish, who lost their fourth in a row. They are 0-11 against Virginia in ACC play.

(AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Alabama finished the season No. 1 in the AP Top 25 for the 12th time, extending its record by completing the program’s first perfect season since 2009. With 12 AP titles overall — Paul “Bear” Bryant was coach for five and Gene Stallings for one — Alabama has four more than Notre Dame, in second place with eight. The Big 12 finished with a perfect record in five bowl games. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25___This story has been updated to correct the number of national titles for Alabama to 12, not.

(AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth)ARLINGTON, Texas – A truly untraditional Rose Bowl setting, a very common result for Alabama in the College Football Playoff. 4 Notre Dame in a CFP semifinal Rose Bowl played inside about 1,400 miles from Pasadena, California. “I don't think there’s anything quite like the Rose Bowl, the tradition, the setting, the mountains. 3 Ohio State, which beat Clemson 49-28 in the other CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. PERFECT AT COWS HOMEAlabama is 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, with a pair of convincing CFP semifinal wins there.

(AP Photo/Brian Blanco, File)Alabama teammates Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith along with Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Florida’s Kyle Trask have been named finalists for the Heisman Trophy. Jones and Smith are the eighth set of teammates to be finalists together since the tradition started in 1982. The Crimson Tide is the second team to have three players in the top five in Heisman voting. In 1946, Army running back Glenn Davis won the Heisman, fellow running back Doc Blanchard finished fourth and quarterback Arnold Tucker was fifth. Iowa State running back Breece Hall was sixth this year, followed by Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, BYU quarterback Zach Wilson, Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book and Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

(AP Photo/Nell Redmond)Greensboro, NC – Atlantic Coast Conference champion Clemson and fellow College Football Playoff selection Notre Dame lead the 2020 All-ACC Football Teams announced on Tuesday. Boston College, Miami, North Carolina and Pitt followed with seven selections each, and NC State had six. ACC leading rusher Michael Carter of North Carolina (1,245 yards/8.0 yards per carry) is the other first-team running back. Notre Dame tackle Liam Eichenberg, announced earlier Tuesday as the 2020 Jacobs Blocking Trophy winner, led the offensive line voting. Divine Deablo of Virginia Tech and Kyle Hamilton of Notre Dame were tabbed at the safety positions.

4 Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal originally scheduled to serve as the 107th Rose Bowl. It's still unclear whether the game in the Dallas Cowboys' stadium will be called the Rose Bowl, but the decision ended a streak of 78 straight years in Pasadena for a bowl game first played in 1902. The festive week of genteel celebrations around the Rose Bowl game already had been mostly canceled, interrupting a beloved annual holiday tradition for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles-area residents and tens of thousands of visiting fans. Alabama's first bowl game was the 1926 Rose Bowl, and the Tide played in six early editions of the game. They haven't been back in the official Rose Bowl game since 1946, although they beat Texas on Jan. 7, 2010, in the BCS National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl stadium.

Notre Dame was picked Sunday over Texas A&M for the final spot, ending what little drama there had been. Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State have also held the first four spots in the AP Top 25 since Oct. 25. The Atlantic Coast Conference is the second league to have two teams in the playoff, joining the SEC in 2017. After sitting second in the CFP rankings for a month, Notre Dame was blown out 34-10 by Clemson in the ACC championship. Barta said the disparate number of games played by contenders — along with far fewer cross-conference games than usual —- was a challenge for the committee all season.

Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (12) looks for a receiver during the first half of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship NCAA college football game against Notre Dame, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State topped the final Associated Press college football poll of the regular season Sunday with No. 4 Notre Dame comfortably ahead of No. Before the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its selections for the final, AP Top 25 voters released their final rankings. The only team to fall out of the rankings this week was Buffalo, which lost the Mid-American Conference title game. ___Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

2 Notre Dame 34-10 on Saturday to win its sixth straight ACC title. “His ability to run really stresses your coverage calls,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. Clemson has won all nine games Lawrence has started by at least 18 points and their average margin of victory in those games is 33.6 points. “We are trending in the right direction and we are playing our best football,” Lawrence said. Notre Dame: Notre Dame hopes to edge No.

Alabama punt returner DeVonta Smith (6) returns a punt for a touchdown against Arkansas during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Dec. 12, 2020, in Fayetteville, Ark. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson and Ohio State will enter championship weekend in position to make the College Football Playoff with very little drama. Ohio State (5-0) is fourth going into the Big Ten title game against Northwestern, and Texas A&M is on deck at No. The unbeaten Bearcats host Tulsa, which is 23rd, in the American Athletic Conference title game. "We continue to work with the College Football Playoff and local health officials to provide the safest possible environment at our game.”___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and http:www.twitter.com/AP_Top25

It was Book’s 30th victory as a starter, the most ever for a Notre Dame quarterback. “It’s a dream come true to be able to attend Notre Dame and have a good career,” Book said. Notre Dame started its run thanks to a roughing the passer by Syracuse that Book later turned into a 28-yard TD run. Book finished with 348 total yards, becoming only the second Irish player to move past 10,000 yards (10,008) in total offense. Notre Dame: The Irish have an extra week to rest up for Clemson after the conference adjusted the schedules earlier this week, canceling their last game.

(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)BOSTON – Notre Dame has a history of following big wins with letdowns against rival Boston College. I’m fortunate to be at Notre Dame that long. 1 Clemson, Notre Dame (8-0, 7-0 ACC) racked up a season-high 561 total yards against BC. The last time Notre Dame beat a top-ranked team was 1993, and then following week the Fighting Irish were upset by BC on a last-second field goal. It was recovered by Notre Dame defensive end Daelin Hayes on the Eagles 49 with 2:05 left in the quarter.

Notre Dame wide receiver Ben Skowronek (11) celebrates as he goes in the end zone past Pittsburgh defensive back A.J. 3 Notre Dame (5-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) had no such issues while handling the Panthers (3-4, 2-4) their fourth consecutive loss. The Fighting Irish effectively ended any hope Pitt — which has developed a reputation in recent years of being the occasional giant killer — might have had late in the second quarter. Three Pitt plays went nowhere and Irish sophomore defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey raced in untouched to block Kirk Christodoulou’s punt. Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi called Notre Dame “as good a team we saw on the football field in six years.”“I thought we'd stack up better," Narduzzi said.

Mountain West athletic directors are aiming for an Oct. 24 or Oct. 31 start for the football season. Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson told AP last week the conference would not move forward on a fall football season without its schools having the ability to test daily. The Mountain West postponed its fall sports season on Aug. 10, the day before the Big Ten and Pac-12 did the same. The conferences that are currently staging fall football seasons have been testing athletes at least three times per week, but not daily. Notre Dame said 94 football players were tested for COVID-19 on Monday and of those seven were positive.

15 Notre Dame reached double-digit wins for the third straight season by beating Stanford 45-24 on Saturday. Book has been especially sharp late in the season with 12 TD passes and no interceptions in the final three contests. His 33 TD passes on the season are second in school history to Brady Quinn's 37 in 2006. Stanford then had seven punts and a fumble the next eight possessions before getting a late TD run from Cameron Scarlett. CELEBRATIONFor the second straight week, an opponent celebrated a rivalry game win at Stanford Stadium.

Lindsey talks to Jeff Skarbeck who traveled all the way from Chicago to watch the Hokies battle the Fighting Irish. Copyright 2019 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.

Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah #6 of Notre Dame Fighting and James Mitchell #82 of Virginia Tech fight for the ball during Notre Dame's 21-20 win. The old saying that the only thing a 'prevent' defense does is prevent you from winning might have rung true for Virginia Tech on Saturday at Notre Dame. Leading Notre Dame 20-14, Virginia Tech punter John Parker Romo hit a beautiful punt that went out of bounds at the Notre Dame 13-yard line, forcing the Fighting Irish to go 87 yards in 3:22 with only one timeout. Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book had plenty of time on each play, and the eight defenders Virginia Tech dropped into coverage still couldn't prevent Notre Dame wideout Chase Claypool from being wide open for a 26-yard completion on 4th-and-10 that moved the ball to the Virginia Tech 7-yard line. Virginia also doesn't have a road game the rest of the year and will see last-place Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech come to Charlottesville to finish out the league portion of the schedule.

(AP) - Ian Book delivered the type of clutch, game-winning drive that can make Notre Dame fans forgive the quarterbacks' mistakes. After getting blown out at Michigan last week, Notre Dame faced some harsh criticism. After two incomplete passes, Notre Dame caught Virginia Tech in a blitz and Book ran away from it and darted into the end zone. "Just a lot of grit and perseverance," Notre Dame tight end Cole Kmet said. "It's a tough locker room in there," Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente said.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly, who challenged his team and coaches after the loss to the Bulldogs, liked what he saw. Thanks to the sacks, Notre Dame held Virginia to 4 yards rushing. Notre Dame: Virginia came into the game ranking No. Notre Dame did fumble the ball once as punt returner Chris Finke muffed one in the third quarter. With this 900th victory, Notre Dame is one of eight schools at the plateau, led by Michigan's 957.

SOUTH BEND, IN - After a strong first half at Notre Dame, the second half was a different story for Virginia on Saturday. Notre Dame rallied from a three-point halftime deficit to earn a 35-20 win at Notre Dame Stadium. The Fighting Irish outscored the Cavaliers, 21-3, in the second half. Bryce Perkins went 30-of-43 passing for 334 yards and two touchdowns in defeat for the Cavaliers. Copyright 2019 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.