Riley Leonard lost his dinner after battering-ramming his way to Notre Dame TD

Riley Leonard undeniably has that dog in him. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback has exemplified throughout the season and in the College Football Playoff leading up to Monday's National Championship Game. But he put that further on display right away in Atlanta with the natty hanging in the balance.

On a dream opening drive for the Irish, Leonard was the driving force as he consistently got his own number called and knifed through the Ohio State defense — or at least rammed his way and pushed the pile forward to keep the drive alive. Fittingly, he capped it off with a one-yard touchdown run to put the Fighting Irish up 7-0 early in the contest.

After the score, though, the broadcast cut to the sidelines and showed a clearly already-gassed Leonard on the bench and reported that the Notre Dame quarterback immediately came over and threw up on the sideline. Talk about leaving it all on the field (and some in the trash can).

Riley Leonard puked immediately after leading Notre Dame's opening TD drive

You could certainly make the argument that running Leonard nine times for 34 yards on the first drive of the game may not have been the wisest thing for his stamina throughout this game. That's especially true if he's puking right away. At the same time, that goes to show how hugely important he is for the Notre Dame offense's success.

Leonard isn't the best passer in college football — not by a longshot. Moreover, the Fighting Irish receiving corps has been described as a weakness more often than not for this team. What has been the difference-maker throughout the season has been Leonard's legs, not only with the gains he can make there but also with how it opens up the passing game and space for his talented backfield.

But one thing that can't be questioned in the slightest is the quarterback's toughness or grit. He's put that on display time and again, which he did again on the biggest stage yet this season. Notre Dame has been an underdog narratively basically since they lost to Northern Illinois early in the season but has consistently proven the doubters wrong behind Leonard. And the quarterback looked motivated to do that once again against OSU.