Jeremiyah Love told at least one reporter following Notre Dame’s 27-24 Orange Bowl victory over Penn State on Thursday that Notre Dame wanted to play against Ohio State.
The Buckeyes had yet to beat Texas, 28-14, a day later to secure the College Football Playoff National Championship game between Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2) for Jan. 20. But Notre Dame’s star running back said he felt like Ohio State is the better team and he wanted to play against the best and win.
And there’s the whole part about Notre Dame losing to Ohio State in back-to-back seasons, and most notoriously in 2023 in Notre Dame Stadium with only 10 defenders on the field for Ohio State’s game-winning touchdown. That was Love’s fifth game in a Notre Dame uniform, and it clearly stuck with him.
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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman downplayed the idea of last year’s loss being a motivating factor when the two teams met in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN).
"If you need that to motivate you to get ready for this game, then you're not the right person,” Freeman said. “That's the reality of it. We don't need motivation to be prepared for this game.
"We've got a chance to play in the National Championship game. This isn't about the past. This is about this opportunity we have right in front of us, and we'll continue to focus on this opportunity right in front of us.
"If there's learning opportunities from other games or previous games, absolutely we're going to use them. If that's going to help us be more prepared for what could happen in this game, we're definitely going to use it. But it isn't for motivation at all."
Sticking with Notre Dame’s identity
Freeman was adamant before the CFP semifinal against Penn State that Notre Dame needed to run the ball and prevent Penn State from being productive at running the ball to win the game. Notre Dame didn’t execute that game plan, but it didn’t stop the Irish from pulling out the victory.
Penn State, which is now ranked No. 18 in the FBS in rushing offense and No. 9 in rushing defense, outrushed Notre Dame 204-117. The Irish dropped to No. 41 in rushing defense and No. 14 in rushing offense following that performance.
Ohio State doesn’t run the ball particularly well. It’s rushing offense is ranked No. 66 for averaging 163.2 yards. But the Buckeyes are No. 3 in rushing defense for allowing just 89.9 yards per game.
"I think each team can be different,” Freeman said. “For us, we have to be able to run the football, and we've got to find ways to do that. At the end of the day, you're going to study teams that have had success against your opponent, but you still have to do what your team does well.
"Again, for us to have success, we're going to have to be able to run the ball, and we're going to have to be able to stop the run. Obviously you know me well enough, I've said that, for every game we play. But it won't be any different for this game."
Scouting Ohio State
Freeman and the Irish coaching staff were able to watch the Ohio State-Texas game live before really starting to dissect the film in the days since then.
“You don't get any schematic things out of watching it on TV,” Freeman said. “You obviously can see playmakers, you can see big plays, and that was evident in that game.
"But you have to go back and you've got to watch. You've got to really evaluate the coach's copy of the film to look at schematically how you want to prepare for this game. But I saw some guys on both sides, but specifically Ohio State's side, making really big plays on offense and defense, and they have playmakers all across the board.
“We know it's going to be a challenge, but we look forward to it."
The most obvious challenge will be Notre Dame’s ability to cover Ohio State’s dynamic receivers. The Buckeyes have two wide receivers with more than 900 receiving yards this season: freshman Jeremiah Smith (71 catches for 1,227 yards and 14 touchdowns) and senior Emeka Egbuka (75-947-10). The Irish will have to decide how much they want to rely on the man coverage defensive coordinator Al Golden so often employs.
“As you watch film, not many teams are successful just sitting in man coverage versus these receivers,” Freeman said. “We'll obviously have to mix some things up and come up with a great plan to try to limit what they do in the passing game.
“You're not going to be able to stop their receivers totally. They're a talented bunch. So we'll come up with a plan and be able to adapt and adjust based off what's going on in the game."
Ryan Day on Riley Leonard
Both Notre Dame and Ohio State pulled their starting quarterbacks out of the transfer portal last offseason. The Irish landed Riley Leonard from Duke on Dec. 12. Ohio State picked up Will Howard from Kansas State on Jan. 4.
Day didn’t indicate if he had interest in adding Leonard during the offseason, but he did offer praise of Leonard’s performance this season.
“I think Riley made his decision pretty quickly,” Day said, “but he's somebody that I've respected from afar and just the way that he competes, and he's a great athlete. He's got a great mindset.”
Howard has been statistically much better than Leonard as a passer this season. He completed 292 of his 402 passes (72.6%) for 3,779 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 touchdowns in 15 games. Leonard is 247-of-372 passing (66.4%) for 2,606 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
Leonard has been a much more prolific runner than Howard this season. Howard has 89 carries for 169 yards and seven touchdowns. Leonard has 167 carries for 866 yards and 16 touchdowns.
“I think Riley Leonard is a tremendous leader and a tremendous player and a winner, and their coaching staff does a great job,” Day said. “Got a lot of respect for their players and their coaches.
“This is going to be a complete battle, and we know that. We've got to play our best game this season in the last one."
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