“There are great stories on this team individually,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said. “There’s great stories on this team collectively, but I’ve said this before: The only way those stories get told is if we win, and we have an opportunity to become the ninth team in Ohio State history to win a national championship and the third team in over 50 years, and there’s been a lot of really good football teams in Ohio State history.
“We talked about that, looking up at the banners of those years, and to see just a couple of them over 50 years of great teams. We have an opportunity to separate ourselves, so that’s it. That’s the only thing right now that matters, and how do we do that? By being in the moment, preparing ourselves to be great.”
Here are five storylines to watch in Monday’s title game.
1. Which team gets the better start?
Ohio State jumped on Tennessee and Oregon in its first to playoff games, but Texas took an early punch and played toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes in the semifinal.
The Buckeyes seem to be better when playing from ahead, but Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman said just getting off to a good start won’t be enough for the Fighting Irish.
“Yeah, the first quarter is important in every game,” Freeman said. “It’s how you start, how you win the middle eight (minutes), how you finish. Every play is important. Having a good first quarter is the result of winning that play.
“We often talk about people say you guys do good in the middle eight. Well, you’ve just got to win that play. You’ve got to finish. How do you finish? You’ve got to win that play. We don’t spend a lot of time saying you’ve got to start fast. Yeah, everybody knows that. You’ve got to win that first play, and then guess what? After the first play is over, you’ve got to win the second play.”
2. Will Notre Dame challenge the Buckeyes with man-to-man defense or change things up?
The Fighting Irish pride themselves on being able to lock opponents up by winning individual matchups.
They have the No. 2 pass defense in the country (trailing only Ohio State) in terms of yards allowed per game and are No. 1 in pass play success rate according to CollegeFootballData.com.
“It’s just the way we’ve kind of grown into that over the last year and a half, and really that’s what got us here,” Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “Being aggressive, being on body as much as we can, changing some of the looks up. And so it’s hard at this stage of the season to do anything else, so that’s our focus. That’s who we are.”
With Emeka Egbuka, Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, the Buckeyes present a different level of challenge than they have seen, though.
“Yeah, 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.”
3. Which offensive line carries the day?
Both programs have dealt with major injuries up front but still want to be able to lean on their lines.
While Ohio State has been dealing with the loss of center Seth McLaughlin and Josh Simmons since November, Notre Dame lost left tackle Anthonie Knapp and right guard Rocco Spindler in its win over Penn State in the semifinals. While Spindler is expected to be able to play against Ohio State, Knapp is out.
“Yeah, we’ve been working Charles Jagusah at the left tackle but also playing some guard,” Freeman said. “We have an idea of what we’re going to do starting on Monday, but it’s something I think we could wait until Monday to just say this is exactly what we’re going to do.”
After getting dominated by Michigan, the Ohio State offensive line has held up much better in the playoffs, but it is still not exactly a strength.
4. How well does Will Howard protect the ball?
Ohio State’s senior quarterback has had a fantastic season, but he committed two crucial turnovers at Penn State, threw two interceptions in the loss to Michigan, and had picks that stopped momentum against Tennessee and Texas.
Notre Dame is fifth in the country with 19 interceptions even though playing a lot of man-to-man sometimes does not lend itself to taking the ball away.
If Golden changes up coverages, that could also cause Howard to get confused and put the ball in harm’s way.
5. How many plays can Riley Leonard make?
The Duke transfer received effusive praise from the Buckeyes leading up to the game.
They praised his toughness and his ability to make plays, two things that will be crucial for a Fighting Irish team that does not have a lot of explosiveness at the skill positions aside from running back Jeremiyah Love.
Even if the Irish defense keeps the Buckeyes in check, Leonard will have to figure out how to get his team into the end zone a few times.
“He’s a guy that in the most crucial moments wants the ball in his hands, and he wants to make a play, and most of the time he does,” Freeman said. “That’s how he was raised. He’s a competitor. Getting a chance to talk to him and getting to know his story a little bit, you realize he was raised that way. He’s a competitor, and he’s going to find a way to will us into winning.”
MONDAY’S GAME
CFP Championship
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 7:45 p.m., ESPN, 1410
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