We are finally at the end of the college football season. The first year of an expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) was a success. Some surprise teams made the playoffs that very narrowly pulled off upsets. Meanwhile, the semifinal against Penn State and Notre Dame came down to the wire.
In the national championship, two blue-blood programs made their way to the final. Before looking ahead to the title game, let’s recap last week’s semifinal of Notre Dame versus Penn State.
Recap of the Semifinal Game of the Week: Penn State versus Notre Dame
Going into the semifinal matchup, it was expected that Notre Dame and Penn State would play a close, low-scoring game. For most of the game, that’s exactly what we got. The first six drives of the game resulted in only three points. However, Penn State quickly found its footing, scoring 10 consecutive points behind their running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton.
The Fighting Irish also responded with a field goal drive before the half, engineered by Steve Angeli after Riley Leonard needed to be evaluated for a concussion. Coming out of the half, Leonard returned to the game and orchestrated a drive to tie the game, primarily with the rushing attack with some help from Jeremiyah Love.
In the second half, we saw both offenses up their production, and place the game in their hands of their quarterbacks. Drew Allar got All-American tight end Tyler Warren going, and he finished the night with six catches for 75 yards. Meanwhile, Jaden Greathouse was excellent down the stretch. He led all receivers with 105 receiving yards, including a 54-yard receiving touchdown to tie the game at 24 apiece.
Penn State trusted Allar to engineer a last-minute game-winning drive. Unfortunately, he threw an interception to Christian Gray at the Penn State 42-yard line, where Mitch Jeter made the go-ahead 41-yard field goal to secure the win for Notre Dame.
Who are the biggest X-factors in the national championship game?
The linebackers for Ohio State are the biggest challenge for Notre Dame. Jeremiyah Love is still limited from injury; while Ohio State’s athleticism at the position affords them to fly to the ball and beat offensive linemen to the spot on outside zone runs.
In zone coverage, Cody Simon and Sonny Styles’ speed takes away intermediate crossing routes but keeps their eyes on Riley Leonard should he try to break to the pocket. If Ohio State can command that second level of the field, it forces Leonard to push the ball down the field more than he wants to and brings the Buckeyes’ pass rush into the equation.
What players or unit could underperform in the college football National Championship Game?
The front-seven of the Fighting Irish could underperform when it’s all said and done. Expect Notre Dame to allocate much attention to stopping the Ohio State receivers. Notre Dame knows they have to limit explosive plays to stay within striking distance of Ohio State.
Expect Notre Dame to offer lighter boxes to Ohio State as a means to keep everything in front of them. Howard Cross and Gabriel are stout inside, but Ohio State can be successful with inside zone runs. Ultimately, Notre Dame will have to give something up to give themselves a fighting chance, so their front seven will struggle.
Who wins the National Title?
Ohio State should win comfortably against Notre Dame. With Penn State losing, the Buckeyes get a team that’s not as familiar with them as the Nittany Lions would have been. Head coach Marcus Freeman and his team deserve a lot of credit for making it as far as they have, yet Ohio State appears to have the better team. Both defenses are comparable on paper, though you could give the slight edge to Notre Dame. However, what separates both teams is the offensive playmakers.
Ohio State has this reputation as being a loaded offense, and they have lived up to that reputation. Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate are great receivers, and when you add the element of Jeremiah Smith, the Ohio State offense is put at another level. Meanwhile, the rushing attack of Ohio State is excellent, and they are alleviating the pressure on Will Howard.
Penn State could have matched up personnel offensively with Ohio State’s defense to an extent. It’s hard to see Notre Dame being able to keep up offensively. We’ve seen Ohio State dismantle arguably better offenses such as Tennessee, Oregon, and Texas. Plus, the speed Ohio State has at linebacker takes away the unexpected element of Riley Leonard taking off to run. Like their game versus Texas, Ohio State will win by more than one score and cruise to a national championship.
