When Notre Dame comes to mind my mind races with excitement, from an analytical standpoint this matchup is everything a Fighting Irish fan could hope for in many of the following aspects. While I don’t deny that Ohio State is the favorite, I like Marcus Freeman’s brand of football. Since Notre Dame’s shocking loss to Northern Illinois in week two, they have turned it up a notch and just looked like an entirely different football team, winning 13 straight in convincing fashion. Another key thing to note is that Freeman’s team has had the second-best point differential in the country with a +22.7 scoring margin. Notre Dame has the players to match up with Ohio State on both sides of the ball (Howard Cross, Benjamin Morrison, Xavier Watts) with a strong front seven stuffing the run. Still, in my opinion for Notre Dame to win this football game, they need to play their own brand of football and not try to get into a shootout which is something that they won’t come out on top. Consistent play through the air and on his feet from quarterback Riley Leonard and the defense limiting Ohio State’s opportunities will open up a second half in Notre Dame’s favor where they can come out and break Ohio State with their run game which has been the Fighting Irish’s identity this year on offense.

With Ohio State boasting the highest run defense grade in college football this year, Notre Dame must rely on quarterback Riley Leonard to win this game. Leonard doesn’t typically light up the stat sheet, averaging just 173 passing yards per game. However, to beat this red-hot Ohio State team, he may have to. One player Leonard might look to for support is Jaden Greathouse, who has 494 receiving yards on the season. Leonard is also effective with his legs, averaging 60 rushing yards per game this year, which will certainly be a focus for Ohio State’s defense. Overall, for Notre Dame to win, Riley Leonard will need to play a clean game and be sharp through the air.

20 million dollars, is what it takes to assemble a championship-contending lineup in college football. That is exactly the case of Ohio State, with new starting quarterback Will Howard, new starting halfback Quinshon Judkins, and quite possibly the best receiver in the country with nineteen-year-old Jerimiah Smith. Not to mention first-year Alabama transfer Caleb Downs on the other side of the ball who will certainly be an all-American. They have rolled through everyone they’ve seen in the CFP including Tennessee, Oregon, and Texas. I think this matchup comes down to who has more playmakers and superior athletes. To me, there’s no debate whether Ohio State will be the national champion.

Ohio State has so much momentum coming into this game outscoring their opponents 111-52 in the playoffs and the defense has been outstanding. The defense had one of the most impressive goal-line stands of all time. Not only has the defense performed but also the offense with Will Howard leading with a strong receiving core with all receivers having the potential to be WR1s at any school in college football and all are high NFL prospects. Not only the receivers help this offense but also the strong running back duo in TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. The backs had a total of 3 big-time touchdowns in the win against Texas and 9 touchdowns total in the playoffs. I feel as if the Fighting Irish will be more focused on the running backs and not as focused on true freshman Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes will catch them off guard and throw him the ball and tear them apart in the passing game. I feel as if something snapped in the Buckeyes after losing to Michigan and I feel as if that gives them a great reason to blow this game out and prove why they are the best team in the nation and true national champions.