Arguably the biggest strength traveled for Notre Dame, and could be the biggest key to a deep CFB Playoff run
Notre Dame football punched their ticket to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff on Saturday, defeating rival USC 49-35. It was an unusual game, and not how most Fighting Irish fans would have drawn it up. In the end, style points didn’t matter in this one, just winning the game. The Notre Dame defense played […]
Notre Dame football punched their ticket to the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff on Saturday, defeating rival USC 49-35. It was an unusual game, and not how most Fighting Irish fans would have drawn it up. In the end, style points didn’t matter in this one, just winning the game.
The Notre Dame defense played its worst game of the season, and for the first time in what feels like forever, this Irish team was in a competitive game late into the fourth quarter. It was unusual territory for a team that had been collecting blowout victory after blowout victory for the majority of the season.
One part of this Notre Dame team that was familiar was the running game. Coming into the matchup against the Trojans, the Irish were averaging 221.8 yards per game on the ground and 6.3 yards per carry. The trio of running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, and the quarterback Riley Leonard have been dynamic this season.
Those three were once again tremendous on Saturday. It was the Jeremiyah Love show early, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown on just 13 carries. He did that despite leaving early in the second half due to a knee injury, while also adding three receptions for 38 yards.
There was some uneasiness when Love was ruled out. He had been arguably the best overall player for either team, on both sides of the football. Price picked up the slack and rushed for a career-high 111 yards and a touchdown, doing so on just 12 carries. He was tremendous in Love’s absence, and really made a statement for just how dynamic this running game truly is.
Add in Leonard who rushed for 50 yards and another score, and Notre Dame ended with 258 yards rushing as a team against USC. As a team, the Trojans had surrendered just 128.4 yards per game on the ground. The Irish ground game more than doubled that output in this one.
In a playoff atmosphere, people always talk about “what travels”, meaning what parts of the game can be most important in those most hostile environments. The two biggest talking points are typically defense and a good running game. The latter should give the Irish a lot of optimism moving forward, especially in that first round in South Bend.
It’s going to be cold. The atmosphere is going to be electric, and the Notre Dame running game is ready to go.
