Oh dear! Maybe that’s how heartbreaks happen. Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish overcame all the hurdles without any help from any conference. However, on the D-Day, they had a nose dive, losing the national championship title to Ryan Day’s Ohio State Buckeyes. Are they upset?

Definitely. Did they talk ill about Day’s boys? Definitely NOT. In the post-game conference, Freeman’s quarterback Riley Leonard accepted the loss. After all, accordingly him, their fate was decided by Jesus Christ himself. Instead of being part of the blame game, Leonard issued an apology as well.   

Riley Leonard is a quarterback defined not just by football

When most of the players’ world now revolves around the national championship, Leonard stands out of the crowd. Well, the Fighting Irish has seen it all. Coming off as an independent program, it was no easy task for Freeman’s program to come this far. The program maintained a 13-game victory streak before losing to red-hot Ohio State. Did the fresh defeat give Leonard a grinding alert to talk about Jesus Christ? During the post-game conference, Leonard’s speech centered around his savior,  “Before I answer my question I need to thank my Lord Jesus Christ, for giving me the opportunity to play in this game.”

He continued, “Us and Ohio State were the two teams who praised Jesus Christ the most and I think we strengthened each other in our faith…I am happy to see godly man come out at top no matter what the circumstances.” Interestingly, Leonard’s faith in Jesus Christ had nothing to do with their 23-34 loss to the Buckeyes. That’s because, even during the pre-game conference, he shared how his heart fills up with gratitude seeing his friends and family members getting baptized rather than winning games. 

Back in August last year, Leonard shared, “If that were to be the case and we win a national championship, that’s very hard to come back to Jesus. That’s something that I’m personally still working on. Win or lose, you finish a game, do you still show up at church on Sunday?” Even during his gameplay during the finals, after scoring a 75-yard touchdown drive, he displayed his wristband. It reads, “Matthew 23:12.” A gospel verse that states, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” Even though the final score left Leonard and his program close to the ground, the quarterback did his part.  

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Riley Leonard took accountability for the loss

It’s been seven years since Brandon Wimbush left his mark in that 2017 season. He ran for 803 yards on 141 carries and gifted ex-Notre Dame HC Brian Kelly with a star-packed history. He also had set a 14-touchdown record for the Fighting Irish. However, Leonard broke the record in the 2024 season against Indiana Hoosiers. Freeman’s quarterback recorded his 15th rushing touchdown. That’s how the program pinned high hopes on him to flip their luck.

But hardly did they know what their fate had in store for them. The game started as good as Notre Dame could have asked for. Their star quarterback led Notre Dame 75 yards down the field before running into the end zone to give them a 7-0 lead. All this happened within 10 minutes. But these happy times were short-lived. Their offense fell apart as they only picked up three total yards in the final three possessions in the second quarter. However, Leonard did not run away. 

As Notre Dame insider Tyler Horka tweeted, “Riley Leonard just apologized to Notre Dame nation for the way he played in the second quarter. He said it was “unacceptable.”  No apology necessary. He played his heart out and left it all out there. Irish had a chance to mount a major comeback largely because of him. Gamer.” Did Riley Leonard owe an apology? Not at all. The young chap has been true to his program and to his Lord.