CFP National Championship: Ohio State vs. NOtre Dame
Photo Credit: USA Today (DDSN DOES NOT OWN THIS PHOTO)
Ohio State Buckeyes -8.5 vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish; Total 45.5
Finally, it is time for the CFP National Championship after a long road of the first 12 team playoff. Both teams have earned every bit of their ticket to Atlanta, GA for the Title Game. On one hand, there is the Ohio State Buckeyes who bring in one of the hottest offenses in the country led by QB Will Howard with plenty of NFL weapons. Notre Dame is playing the underdog role once again.
The spread has gotten as high as OSU -10 at Circa Sports and the Fighting Irish is close to 3/1 on the moneyline. Ohio State took advantage of some huge plays against Texas that helped seal their win. Texas was more unimpressive than Ohio State being impressive. Take away the 75 yard screen pass TD from Henderson and the 80 yard scoop and score and the Buckeyes would have only scored twice. It was impressive to see Chip Kelly cooking up a great opening drive that set the tone for the rest of the game and gave OSU the lead they needed so the defense could play aggressive. The Notre Dame defense cannot allow that to happen.
My main concern with the Notre Dame offense is Riley Leonard. He played scared and timid against the Penn State pass rush. He tried too often to try and take off and run instead of stepping up into the pocket making throws. He needs to play like he did against Georgia and ND has a great chance to win. If he plays scared, I don’t think the Irish have a chance offensively. This is why the Ohio State offense is so important and scripting a perfect opening drive. The team that can score first and set the tone will have a great chance to win. Although, Notre Dame has been coming from behind with some great second half adjustments.
Notre Dame’s first half against Penn State was awful. The coaching staff on both sides of the ball got outclassed. They turned it around though. Turnovers have been important in every game, along with big plays. The team that can get more of them will win. It sounds obvious and easier said than done.
The way I see this game playing out is Notre Dame utilizing their running backs not only running but in the passing game. They have a stable of backs that are great out of the backfield. Riley Leonard has to step up in the pocket to throw and not sit back and take sacks. Ewers had trouble with this and we all saw what happened. Chip Kelly will also utilize their amazing running backs and try to power run like Penn State did to set the tone. This will open up the passing game. I think Notre Dame will be happy to shut down the passing game and let them try and win on the ground. The Notre Dame defense shows up in the biggest game of the season. They put pressure on Will Howard and force turnovers. This will help ND continue to pound the rock and lean on their running backs. We will have plenty of running in this game. I’m not so sure about the big plays. Notre Dame wins and the game goes UNDER the total.
