Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said that there will be no change at quarterback when asked about who is the first on the depth chart, and that Riley Leonard's practices have been “really good” in decision making and that he has made some quality throws, according to Pete Sampson of The Athletic.

Riley Leonard did not fare well in Notre Dame football's upset 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois this past Saturday. He completed 20-of-32 passes for 163 yards and two interceptions without throwing for a touchdown. It was a massively disappointing loss in a game that the Fighting Irish expected to win comfortably.

After transferring to Notre Dame from Duke, Leonard was one of the more intriguing players in college football. There were some who believed he could play his way toward the top of the NFL Draft for 2025, and that obviously has not happened so far. He was a solid quarterback at Duke, and there still could be some hope for that this season as Notre Dame looks to rebound. Hopefully, Leonard can turn in a solid performance this week on the road against Purdue, because pressure will start to mount if he does not. Even in the win against Texas A&M in Week 1, Leonard did not perform very well, so a good outing against Purdue would ease some concerns for the rest of the season.

Notre Dame football's road forward after Northern Illinois upset

After the loss to Northern Illinois, Notre Dame dropped from No. 5 in the AP Poll to No. 18. Prior to this season, the loss to Northern Illinois would have been a death blow to the Irish's playoff hopes, but that is no longer the case. Due to the playoff expanding to 12 teams, Notre Dame can still get in if it plays well the rest of the way. The problem is that the margin for error is so much thinner now.

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Notre Dame should expect to beat Purdue this weekend, and the rest of the schedule presents an opportunity for Marcus Freeman's team to win out. The biggest tests remaining are games against Louisville and USC.

If Notre Dame does win out the rest of the way, it could find itself in the playoff, but it will be much tougher having that Northern Illinois loss on the resume. The margin is razor thin, and hopefully Leonard can rebound to help the Irish get some big wins to move back up in the AP Poll.