Five bold predictions for Texas A&M football vs. Notre Dame: Aggies pick off Leonard twice
Statistically, this is one of the more unlikely predictions in this column. For his career, despite his overall inaccuracy (he hovers right around 60% completion), Leonard only throws an interception every 61 pass attempts or so (Weigman, for comparison, has thrown two interceptions in about 250 career pass attempts).
I also anticipate Mike Denbrock to scheme up some quick-hitters early on for Leonard. Throughout the course of the game, there may be a couple of downfield shots, just to make the defense respect it—but the dropback passing game is not Leonard’s strength, so I expect that the Irish OC won’t rely on it overly.
The reason I’m predicting this has to do with two factors, mainly: first, I think—despite him playing it down at his presser—there is a distinct advantage that Elko has here. He knows Leonard well, the kinds of looks that he likes, etc. Because of that, I think he can effectively run some coverages that will confuse the Irish’s new QB, sneaking a safety over when Leonard is not expecting (for example).
The second reason has to do with the pressure that will be in Leonard’s face all night. Scourton, Stewart, Turner, and Hicks are going to absolutely feast up front when the quarterback drops back. No. 11, especially, will be in the backfield regularly. So whether it’s due to a rushed pass, a tipped pass, or being rattled overall, I think we see Leonard make a couple of mistakes that an underrated Aggie secondary can take advantage of.