QB Leonard runs for 2 TDs as No. 12 Notre Dame leans on strong defense to beat Georgia Tech 31-13

ATLANTA (AP) — Riley Leonard bolstered No. 12 Notre Dame's playoff hopes by rushing for two touchdowns and the Fighting Irish defense was dominant after a slow start in a 31-13 win over Georgia Tech on Saturday.

Jeremiyah Love added a TD run and defensive back Adon Shuler scored on a 36-yard interception return for Notre Dame (6-1). The Fighting Irish held Georgia Tech (5-3) to 64 rushing yards.

Leonard ran for 51 yards as Notre Dame extended its winning streak to five games. Leonard completed 20 of 29 passes for 203 yards with an interception in the game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home of the NFL's Atlanta Falcons. He recovered from a first-quarter interception that helped the Yellow Jackets take a 7-0 lead.

“It’s very easy to get greedy and want to make the explosive play, but throughout my career, I’ve learned that just taking what the defense gives me is what wins ballgames,” Leonard said. “... Settle down, trust your eyes, trust your coaching and you get the job done. And we did a pretty good job with that.”

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Leonard “came back with the right mindset” after giving up the interception to cornerback Warren Burrell midway through the first quarter.

“He’s confident. ... He’s a confident individual because of the way he prepares. And, you know, he did a great job after that interception leading the offense.”

With Haynes King held out with a shoulder injury, quarterback Zach Pyron was sharp early in his first start for Georgia Tech since his 2022 freshman season.

Pyron completed his first nine passes, including six completions on a touchdown drive. Jamal Haynes' 1-yard scoring run as time expired in the first quarter gave the Yellow Jackets the 7-0 lead. Notre Dame led 31-7 before Pyron's 7-yard touchdown pass to Chase Lane with 33 seconds remaining.

Georgia Tech coach Brent Key said Pyron's effort was “gutsy.”

“The guy is tough as nails,” Key said. “We’ve got to be able to step up around him and complement him and help him.”

Led by Leonard, the Fighting Irish owned the second quarter with nine plays of 10 or more yards. Leonard's first scoring run from the 1 capped a 14-play drive. He added another TD run from the 12, giving the senior 10 rushing scores this season.

Georgia Tech muffed a 39-yard field goal attempt with 11 seconds remaining in the half when David Shanahan dropped the snap. Late in the third quarter, Notre Dame's Bryce Young blocked a 35-yard attempt by Aidan Birr.

“Special teams for three weeks now have not been up to expectations,” Key said.

Leading 21-7, the Fighting Irish faked a punt and Love gained 27 yards to set up Zac Yoakam's 42-yard field goal, the first of his career. Yoakam filled in for Mitch Jeter, who missed the game with a hip injury.

Notre Dame: Defense played the lead role, even after giving up Pyron's 60-yard pass to Abdul Janneh to the Notre Dame 16 late in the third quarter. A third-down sack of Pyron by Rylie Mills set up Young's blocked field goal. Safety Xavier Watts added a fourth-quarter interception, his third of the season.

Georgia Tech: Pyron couldn't maintain the momentum from his strong first quarter, throwing two interceptions and one scoring pass. He completed 20 of 36 passes for 269 yards.

Notre Dame could move up in the Top 25 following the impressive road win over the Yellow Jackets, who were coming off two straight Atlantic Coast Conference wins over Duke and North Carolina.

Notre Dame: Plays in another NFL stadium next Saturday against No. 25 Navy at MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and New York Jets.

Georgia Tech: Returns to its Atlantic Coast Conference schedule when it plays at Virginia Tech next Saturday.

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Georgia Tech running back Chad Alexander (27) runs against Notre Dame during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) misses the catch against Georgia Tech defensive back Ahmari Harvey (3) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard, left, and Notre Dame tight end Eli Raridon walk off the field after an NCAA college football game against Georgia Tech, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills (99) celebrates a sack of Georgia Tech quarterback Zach Pyron during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame defensive lineman Rylie Mills (99) hits Georgia Tech quarterback Zach Pyron (5) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech wide receiver Bailey Stockton (87) is hit by Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser (24) during the second half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes (11) runs against Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore (15) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech wide receiver Eric Singleton Jr. (2) runs against Notre Dame during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame cornerback Max Hurleman (37) is hit by against Georgia Tech on a punt return during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key ealks on the field during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Notre Dame, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) runs against Georgia Tech linebacker Jackson Hamilton (17) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech running back Jamal Haynes, celebrates hios touchdown against Notre Dame during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame running back Jadarian Price (24) runs against Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech quarterback Zach Pyron (5) is hit by against Notre Dames during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame wide receiver Beaux Collins (5) runs against Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech wide receiver Malik Rutherford (8) makes the catch against Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key speaks with an official during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Notre Dame, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech quarterback Zach Pyron (5) runs against Notre Dame linebacker Jack Kiser (24) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) celebrates his touchdown against Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs out of the pocket against Georgia Tech during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Georgia Tech defensive back Warren Burrell (4) intercepts the ball off Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard (13) runs against Georgia Tech defensive lineman Thomas Gore (59) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

HAVANA (AP) — Millions of people in Cuba were left without electricity for two days after the nation's energy grid went down when of the island's major power plants failed. The widespread blackout that swept across the county was the worst in years.

Authorities were able to restore power to some people by Saturday, but it was unclear when the power would be fully restored across the country.

Here are a few things to know:

About half of Cuba was plunged into darkness on Thursday evening, followed by the entire island on Friday morning after the failure of the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric plant in Matanzas Province east of Havana.

Even in a country that for decades has been accustomed to frequent outages amid a series of economic crises, the grid failure was unprecedented in modern times, aside from incidents involving powerful hurricanes, such as one in 2022.

Even as Cuba worked to fix the power problems Saturday, the country issued hurricane watches for the far eastern Guantanamo, Holguin and Las Tunas provinces as a tropical storm developed into Hurricane Oscar, the 10th hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.

Authorities said the outage that began Thursday stemmed from increased demand from small- and medium-sized companies and residences’ air conditioners — as many as 100,000 additional ones this year alone. They also blamed breakdowns in old thermoelectric plants that haven’t been properly maintained because of a lack of hard currency due to U.S. sanctions, as well as insufficient fuel to operate some facilities.

While some homes have spent up to eight hours a day this year without electricity as the grid has grown more unstable, the current power failure is considered Cuba’s worst in years.

Officials said that 1.64 gigawatts went offline during peak hours, about half the total demand at the time. The government implemented emergency measures to slash demand, suspended classes, and shut down some state-owned workplaces and canceled non-essential services.

Another major collapse occurred two years ago after Hurricane Ian, an intense Category 3 storm, damaged power installations and the government took days to fix them.

It's unknown how Cubans will react if the current blackout endures or recurs.

But problems in the electrical grid have helped sparked street protests several times in recent years, including large demonstrations in July 2021 that led to international criticism of the government for its harsh response. There were also smaller demonstrations due to blackouts in October 2022 and March of this year.

Authorities now say changes to electricity rates for small- and medium-sized companies, which have proliferated since they were first authorized by the communist government in 2021, are being considered.

Officials said the state-owned power company UNE was using distributed generation to provide power to some areas of the island and that a gas-fired thermoelectric plant was starting operations.

Cuba gets its power from huge thermoelectric plants like Antonio Guiteras and some smaller ones, which require crude oil to operate. The country produces about half of the crude needed, but must purchase some of the rest on the international market, which can be difficult and costly due to U.S. sanctions. It has also depended on allies like Venezuela and Russia for cheaper fuel.

Authorities have been working since last year on a project to upgrade the island’s electrical grid through the use of alternative power sources. A project to build 31 centers generating solar energy is under way and projected to be completed next year.

“We are devoting absolute priority to addressing and solving this highly sensitive energy contingency,” Cuba’s President Miguel Díaz-Canel wrote on X. “There will be no rest until its restoration.”

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

A woman prepares to catch a tossed frisbee during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man walks along a street with the aid of crutches during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A man drives his American classic car during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents play dominoes during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents eat outside their homes to avoid the indoor heat during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A resident prepares a soup over an open fire during a massive blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Residents endure the heat during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A cook looks in on a resident during a massive blackout after a major power plant failed in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A street vendor selling candles waits for customers during a massive blackout following the failure of a major power plant in Havana, Cuba, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)