Leonard Moore: Notre Dame's Got One Goal, and It Starts With Wisconsin

Notre Dame's cornerback Leonard Moore isn't mincing words. The Irish are on a "revenge tour," and everybody in South Bend knows exactly what that means. Last fall's 27-24 season-opening loss to Miami kept him up at night. So did the Week 3 collapse against Texas A&M. An 0-2 start that locked the Irish out of the College Football Playoff entirely. This year? Different story.

The Miami Game Still Stings

Moore said the defensive backs took the blame for that opener. Miami quarterback Carson Beck was efficient, completing 20 of 30 passes for 205 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. "That's what used to keep me up at night," Moore said, "just thinking about maybe one or two plays in that game that I could've made that would've changed the course of the season."

Coach Marcus Freeman didn't hold back either. "He told us we was weak, we was soft," Moore recalled. "All that type of stuff. It's serious to him, too. That's something he's not used to seeing from us." The secondary heard the message loud and clear.

But Freeman's Got His Eyes on Wisconsin First

Here's the thing, though. When Freeman heard his players already talking about the November 7 home matchup against Miami, he shut that down real quick. "We spend too much time daydreaming about Miami, we're going to lose to Wisconsin," Freeman said, referring to Notre Dame's September 6 season opener.

It's the classic coaching move. Stay locked in on what's in front of you. "You've got to focus on the task right at hand," Freeman explained. "That's no different than saying, can we go back to the national championship? If we want to focus on the national championship, we're going to lose the opportunity we have right here."

Quarterback CJ Carr, now in his second season as the full-time starter, gets it. He remembers that first half against Miami being rough. "It was probably the worst first half of football our offense played all year," he said. But they battled back. "There was some resilience shown in that game that's going to help us this year."

The secondary returns nine of the top 10 tacklers on defense, including safety Adon Shuler and Moore himself. Senior linebacker Drayk Bowen, fresh off offseason hip surgery, was back in pads at spring practice. The pieces are there. Now it's about execution.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.