Three phases of the game and a way to win each one
People can say what they want about the college football playoffs up to now, but with a final four set with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Penn State Nittany Lions, Texas Longhorns, and Ohio State Buckeyes — the country is getting a blue-blood bonanza.
For Notre Dame, their path to the Orange Bowl has given the program a lot of redemption for sins committed over the past 31 years. The win over Georgia in particular, has granted them a different status among fans and observers from all over the country.
But that status won’t be enough to beat Penn State and advance to the National Championship game. Here are three keys to an Irish victory in the Orange Bowl over the Nittany Lions.
KEY 1 — OFFENSE
Protect. The turnover battle is a key part of any big football game, but the way in which the Irish will play this game offensively makes it even more important. It’s lazy analysis to say that this game will be a lot like the Georgia game — but it’s also not wrong. Penn State has a very stingy defense, and the Irish are going to have to work hard for every yard gained, and that’s the point. While an explosive play can definitely come out of nowhere for the Irish with players like Jeremiyah Love, Jordan Faison, Jadarian Price and others… we should probably expect those 10, 11, 12, play drives. Possessions will become more valuable as the clock counts down throughout the game. A single turnover has the ability to set a team back much further.
Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
KEY 2 — DEFENSE
Spy. Penn State’s running attack with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen is a real threat in this game, but I think Notre Dame will be able to mostly keep them from taking over the game — it’s Tyler Warren that actually worries me the most. There has to be a game plan to stop Warren from taking over the game. Maybe that looks like a spy situation like we see when a team has a mobile quarterback, but however it works, they will need to know where he is at all times and make the window as tight as possible. He’s the one that has bailed PSU and Drew Allar out time and time again, and if the Irish put a stop to it, they’ll control the game.
KEY 3 — SPECIAL TEAMS
Be real. We shouldn’t expect the same type of output against Penn State as we got against Georgia when Mitch Jeter knocked in three field goals over 40 yards and Jayden Harrison took a 98 yard kickoff to the house. However… the overall unit is still a weapon, and one that Marcus Freeman and Marty Biagi have used really well this season. They need to keep being aggressive in what they do on special teams. Maybe that means Bryce Young gets a blocked punt instead of running into the kicker penalty — or maybe that means Freeman decides to pull out another fake punt on Notre Dame’s side of the field… I just don’t know. All I know is that, Notre Dame has made special teams a real weapon this year despite their struggles kicking field goals — stay real. Stay aggressive.