And there were two.
The initial 12-team College Football Playoff field has been reduced to two teams as Ohio State faces Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship game in Atlanta on Monday at 7:30 PM ET.
The Buckeyes are looking to win their first national title since 2014, while Notre Dame is aiming to reach the top of college football for the first time since 1988.
Ryan Day’s Ohio State team advanced this year in the CFP by beating Tennessee, Oregon and Texas by a combined score of 111-52. Chip Kelly’s offense is averaging 448 yards and 37 points per contest through three games, while the defense is holding opponents to an average of 17 points per game.
Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame team, on the other hand, relied on the same formula it used to get to this point all season: a solid rushing attack and elite defensive play. The Fighting Irish averaged 155 yards on the ground in wins over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State, holding those three powerhouses to 17 points per game.
So what is the winning formula for both teams and who could be the X-Factor in this game?
fox sports college football author Laken Littman, R.J. Young and michael cohen We’re here to preview the CFP National Championship.
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame: CFB National Championship Best Bet
What is the formula for Ohio State to win this game?
Laken Littman: Make quarterback Riley Leonard one-dimensional. Leonard’s strengths are his determination and tenacity as a runner. He averages 57.7 yards per game. And whether it’s a deliberate run or a scramble, he uses his legs to do it all. Leonard went 32 yards across midfield as intended and probably would have been able to keep going if not for the facemask (which the referee missed) in the second quarter. He later outscored a Georgia player on third-and-7 in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State’s defense put up a stellar performance against Texas in the Cotton Bowl. What’s memorable here is Jack Sawyer exposing Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal, then scooping up the fumble and returning it 83 yards for a score. Game down by 2 points late in the 4th quarter. The Buckeyes pressured Ewers all night, sacking him four times and making him uncomfortable in the pocket, forcing him to rush the ball at times. If Ohio State can contain Leonard, they will be in good shape to win a national championship.
R.J. Young: Be the state of Ohio. This isn’t a team we’ve seen before Oregon with a defensive scheme as pedestrian or predictable, nor a quarterback who didn’t realize he was running out of time when the game clock hit zero in a one-score game. It’s not an offense that’s hell-bent on challenging the strengths of Michigan’s 2024 football team (defensive line) with an effective yet useless running game. Be it Ohio State, which took to the air to defeat Tennessee and Oregon in back-to-backs with a defense that has produced at least four sacks in each of its last three games and a quarterback that can service its best wide receiver room. sports.
As has been the case all year, the only opponent who can beat Ohio State is himself. Get out of your own way.
Michael Cohen: Stop execution. Considering the huge difference between how well Notre Dame throws the ball (14th nationally, 210.8 yards per game) and how poorly the Fighting Irish throw the ball (102nd nationally), Ohio State’s It would be as simple as that. , 194.3 yards per game) along with transfer quarterback Riley Leonard, a dual-threat player better known for his contributions on the ground than through the air. Leonard, who joined Notre Dame after spending the past three seasons at Duke, has thrown the same number of touchdown passes (3) and interceptions (3) in the College Football Playoff, two of them against Penn. It came in a Bowl victory. situation.
But Leonard is also the team’s second-leading rusher this season with 866 yards and 16 touchdowns on 167 carries, including at least 11 carries in each of Notre Dame’s three playoff games. The quarterbacks with more rushing yards than Leonard this season were Army’s Bryson Daily (1,659), Jacksonville State’s Tyler Huff (1,344), Navy’s Blake Horvath (1,246), New Mexico’s Devon Dampier (1,166) and Ohio’s Parker Navarro. . (1,046). Leonard and tailback Jeremiah Love, who rushed for 1,121 yards and 17 touchdowns this season despite dealing with a knee injury, form one of the most effective rushing duos in the country. They should provide a healthy test for an Ohio State defense that ranks third in the nation in allowing 89.9 yards per game, with just 35 combined rushing yards against Oregon and Texas in the postseason.
What is the formula for Notre Dame to win this game?
boy name: To win the sales battle, create a takeaway. Notre Dame’s offense has been as explosive as it has been this year. The Fighting Irish exceeded 45 points in exactly half of their regular season games and still ranked sixth in the nation with 37 points per game. The running back has slowed down what first-year coordinator Mike Denbrock could reasonably expect from his unit. Veteran quarterback Riley Leonard lacks both the arm strength and receiving weapons to consistently pump the ball down the field. Especially against an Ohio State defense that allows the fewest passing yards per game (161.1) of any team in the country. And it’s unclear exactly what Notre Dame’s rushing attack will look like without left tackle Anthonie Knapp (high ankle sprain) and tailback Jeremiyah Love (knee) limited to just 17 carries for 64 yards combined against Penn State and Georgia.
All of this means that the Fighting Irish could benefit greatly by forcing Ohio State on an extra possession and creating a turnover or two that takes the pressure off Notre Dame’s offense, and a low-scoring game could be a huge advantage for coach Marcus Freeman and his The director will almost certainly accept it. Defense background. The good news for Notre Dame fans is that no team in the country has created more takeaways than the Fighting Irish, whose defensive coordinator Al Golden oversees a fierce, ball-throwing group. Notre Dame’s 19 total interceptions (two of which came in the postseason) ranked fifth in the nation behind BYU (22), Texas (22), San Jose State (21) and Penn State (20). Notre Dame’s 13 fumbles are tied for third-most nationally, behind Memphis (15) and Duke (14). The Fighting Irish have had at least one takeaway in 14 of their 15 games this season. The only exception was the team’s lone loss of the season to Northern Illinois.
sheet: First of all, it would help if defensive coordinator Al Golden followed the blueprint laid out by the Texans for stopping Jeremiah Smith. The star freshman wide receiver had a season-low one catch for 3 yards in the Cotton Bowl. Obviously, Ohio State has plenty of other weapons on offense, but locking down Smith has made Will Howard’s situation more difficult.
Another issue is that if Notre Dame can continue to make plays in the passing game (like Penn State did) and not rely too heavily on the run (as the Buckeyes’ stout defense will have something to say about that), it will pay off. Fighting Irish wideout Jaden Greathouse became the first receiver to eclipse 100 yards in a game this season against Penn State, and if Leonard can keep feeding him, Greathouse has shown he has a knack for making big plays. .
Given that Ohio State has a talent edge at almost every position, Notre Dame can’t afford to lose turnover battles or give up chunk plays like Oregon and Texas did in the last two games.
R.J.: Run the ball. Throw the ball when you get 1st and 10th. Run the ball when the second is neutral. And if it’s a 3rd down (3rd and long or 3rd and short), call a pass play using a run option, sprint option, or flat out QB throw.
Notre’s secret to success must be built around the lower bodies of Riley Leonard, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Keeping the Ohio State offense off the field and not allowing a tackle for loss to the Ohio State defense is how Notre Dame can win games. Notre Dame held Georgia to two touchdowns with Leonard passing for just 90 yards the entire game. That’s the kind of game they’ll need to play to defeat a more talented Buckeyes team.
Who is the biggest X-Factor in this game?
R.J.: Aneyas Williams. The Notre Dame tailback was the catalyst for the Fighting Irish’s comeback win over Penn State with an explosive response and a 15-yard rush to set up a Leonard rushing TD. Texas took advantage of the weaknesses of Ohio State’s defense by putting Jaydon Blue in the backfield and securing a one-on-one matchup with linebacker Sonny Styles in coverage. A pattern was run by Styles every time Texas QB Quinn Ewers passed to Blue for a TD. Styles got caught in the blitz after losing coverage.
Williams has the skills to utilize the style in this game as well. He finished as Notre Dame’s second leading receiver against Penn State with five catches for 66 yards.
boy name: Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson. For the second time in as many games, Henderson broke a chance for the Buckeyes’ offense with a long, demoralizing touchdown run at a crucial moment. In the Rose Bowl, where Henderson finished with 114 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, he exploded for a 66-yard touchdown near the midway point of the second quarter to push Ohio State’s lead to 31-0. National Semifinals. And in the Cotton Bowl, where Henderson finished with 117 scrimmage yards and one score, he converted a simple screen pass into a 75-yard touchdown to give the Buckeyes a huge final-second drive to tie the game 7-7. 2nd quarter. Henderson is a true home run threat every time he touches the ball, and this could be just the kind of jolt Ohio State needs against a stellar Notre Dame defense. His 31 total carries gained at least 10 yards and leads the nation among players with fewer than 150 attempts this season. He’s averaging over 10 yards per carry on 4.3 carries, by far the best rate of his career.
sheet: I’m going with Greathouse. He entered the Orange Bowl with 31 catches for 359 yards and one touchdown, then had seven catches for 105 yards and one touchdown to tie the game late in the fourth quarter. To win, the Irish will need to make plays in the passing game, and Greathouse has the ability to be a dangerous playmaker. Plus, he’s been on big stages before. Although he is only a sophomore in college, he has won three straight Texas state championships at Westlake High School. In the 2021 title game, he set a state championship record with 236 yards with three touchdowns and was named Offensive MVP. If Leonard can get him the ball, he has plenty of ability to be a downfield threat for the Irish.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today, and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 commemorating the 50th anniversary of Title IX. follow her @LakenLitman.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” follow him @RJ_Young.
Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with a focus on the Big Ten. follow him @Michael_Cohen13.
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