Notre Dame Football Has Been Amazing This Season

Notre Dame

Notre Dame has had an awesome college football season despite one hiccup. The Fighting Irish play their home games in South Bend, Indiana, and play a national schedule. This season, it is led by a great rushing attack, and their running backs have been historically great. They have a senior starting quarterback named Riley Leonard, a transfer from Duke University. Former Ohio State Linebacker Marcus Freeman coaches Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are a game away from the CFP Semifinals.

Notre Dame’s Rushing Attack

The Irish have the 11th-ranked rushing attack in the nation. This bodes well for the College Football Playoff because the team that rushes better usually wins championships. Notre Dame has a two-headed monster at tailback. The starter at tailback for them is Jeremiyah Love. Love has 1,057 rushing yards entering the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. Backup tailback Jadarian Price has 683 yards rushing this season for the Fighting Irish entering the Sugar Bowl against the University of Georgia.

Quarterback Riley Leonard adds to the rushing threat with 751 rushing yards of his own. None of this should be surprising as the golden domes have historically had a great rushing attack. This season fits in with the past.

Riley Leonard

Speaking of quarterback Riley Leonard, he is a senior. Leonard is also a transfer from Duke University. It seems like transfers are becoming more prominent in college football and Leonard is an example. Leonard is a capable thrower of the football with a 66.8% competition percentage and a 139.6 passer rating. This makes him a dangerous dual-threat quarterback. The run-pass option accentuates the Irish attack and makes them dangerous. Leonard was a highly ranked recruit entering Duke University.

Notre Dame This Season

This season Notre Dame has only one blemish on its resume, a shocking 16-14 loss at home to Northern Illinois. Aside from that they are 12-1 this season and have several impressive victories. Notre Dame beat historical powers USC and Texas A&M, both Army and Navy ( who were good this year), and most recently upstart Indiana in a battle of the State of Indiana. An interesting note.

 Georgia had a bye as the Southeastern Conference champion. Teams with a bye are 0-3 so far in the second round of the CFP. Georgia can ill afford to have a slow start in the Sugar Bowl. The Fighting Irish had a ground game that could eat the clock and shorten the game. At least that is what head coach Marcus Freeman wants to do.

Head Coach Marcus Freeman

An interesting note is that former Ohio State Linebacker Marcus Freeman coaches Notre Dame. Freeman is a hot commodity, but he signed a lucrative contract extension just before their first round of the playoff. Freeman was rumored to be a target of his alma mater after Ohio State’s shocking loss at home to rival Michigan. Ohio State seems to have righted the ship, so Ryan Day’s job is probably safe, and Marcus Freeman has done an outstanding job this season.

Conclusion

With a strong rushing attack, Notre Dame is a significant threat to win the College Football Playoff. With a strong rushing attack, the Fighting Irish can shorten games and pound their opponents into submission. Nevertheless, it seems Ohio State is on a mission and will be the prohibitive favorite to prevail in the College Football Playoff.

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