SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The notion that for much of the evening 62-year-old rocker and Notre Dame football superfan Jon Bon Jovi elevated the excitement beyond the golf clap most fervently and constantly Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium was quite a statement.
Considering he was a bystander and not a participant.
In the end, it was the Irish defense that spoke the loudest and had the last word in the 12th-ever football meeting between ND and Florida State and perhaps the one with the least pregame buzz.
Tenth-ranked Notre Dame eventually took care of business, relentlessly so, and won its seventh straight since the Sept. 7 nightmare against Northern Illinois, 52-3 over a FSU team trapped in a perpetual nightmare (1-9).
The Irish offense was adequately complementary and intermittently impressive as Notre Dame rolls into its home finale against Virginia next week with an 8-1 record and a clear path to the 12-team College Football Playoff — or at least one it controls.
The mandate, though, needs to be incremental improvement if the Irish want to stick around beyond the opening round.
In the meantime, some post-bye-week kudos. Inside ND Sports hands out two game balls each week. Here’s who ended up with them:
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Defense: Rylie Mills, defensive tackle
With nose guard Howard Cross III making an early departure with an apparent ankle injury, Cross’ interior linemate, Mills, brought enough toughness for both of them – and then some. Mills had three of Notre Dame’s eight sacks on the night and five tackles overall to set the tone for the Irish defense taking over the game.
FSU’s paltry 88 passing yards and 38 completion percentage were at least partially influenced by the constant pressure the Seminoles QBs were getting from Mills and company.
Offense: Jaden Greathouse, wide receiver
On a night when the Notre Dame passing game felt like it treaded water when it came to big-picture progress, the sophomore slot receiver showed up in big moments and collected a game high five catches for 66 yards.
Quarterback Riley Leonard ended up throwing for 215 yards and a TD and backup Steve Angeli threw for another 37 and a TD.
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