Ohio State vs. Notre Dame: What’s the winning formula for both teams?

Then there were two.

College football’s inaugural field of 12 teams has been reduced to two teams Ohio State They are scheduled to face Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship game at 7:30 PM ET on Monday in Atlanta.

The Buckeyes will be looking to capture their first national title since 2014, while Notre Dame will aim to reach the top of the college football mountain for the first time since 1988.

Ryan Day’s Ohio State team made it to this year’s CFP, beating Tennessee, Oregon and Texas by a combined score of 111-52. Chip Kelly’s offense is averaging 448 yards and 37 points per contest through three games, while the defense has held opponents to an average of 17 points per game.

Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame team, on the other hand, relied on the same formula they’ve used all season to get to this point: a strong rushing attack and elite defensive play. The Fighting Irish averaged 155 yards on the ground in wins over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State, while holding those three powerhouse teams to 17 points per game.

So, what is the winning formula for both teams, and who could be the X-factor in this game?

Fox Sports College football The book Laken Litman, RJ Young and Michael Cohen We’re here to preview the CFP National Championship.

What is Ohio State’s formula to win this game?

Laken Litman: Make quarterback Riley Leonard one-dimensional. Leonard’s strength is his tenacity and toughness as a runner – he averages 57.7 yards per game. Whether it’s a determined run or a scramble, he makes things happen with his legs. Just take the CFP quarterfinal against Georgia in which Leonard ripped a 32-yarder through midfield on a designed run and might have kept the lead going if not for a face mask (which the referees missed) in the second quarter. Later, he jumped over a Georgia player during a third-and-7 drive in the fourth quarter.

Ohio State’s defense had an impressive performance against Texas in the Cotton Bowl, with the lasting memory being Jack Sawyer hitting Quinn Ewers on fourth-and-goal and then scooping up the ball and returning it 83 yards to make it a score. A two-score game late in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes put pressure on Ewers all night — sacking him four times — and made him uncomfortable in the pocket, forcing him to rush throws at times. If Ohio State can contain Leonard, it will be in good shape to win the national championship.

RJ Young: Be the state of Ohio. Not the team we saw before Oregon with a defensive scheme that was as predictable as pedestrian, nor a quarterback that didn’t realize he was out of time when the game clock struck zero on a one-point game. It’s not an offense that was hell-bent on challenging the strength of the 2024 Michigan football team — its defensive line — with a running game that was as useless as it was effective. Be Ohio State that went through the air to beat Tennessee and Oregon respectively with a defense that generated at least four sacks in each of the last three games and with a quarterback capable of providing service to the best wide receiver room in the sport.

As has been the case all year, the only opponent that can beat Ohio State is itself. Get out of your own way.

Michael Cohen: Stop running. Maybe it’s that simple for Ohio State in this matchup, given the huge discrepancy between how well Notre Dame has run the ball this season (14th nationally, 210.8 yards per game) and how bad the Fighting Irish are throwing the ball (102nd nationally National). (194.3 yards per game) with quarterback Riley Leonard, a dual-threat player known for his contributions more on the ground than through the air. Leonard, who joined Notre Dame after spending the last three seasons at Duke, has thrown as many interceptions (three) as touchdown passes (three) in a College Football Playoff, with two of those picks coming in the Orange Bowl win over Penn State.

But Leonard is also the second-leading rusher on the team with 866 yards and 16 touchdowns on 167 carries this season, including at least 11 carries in each of Notre Dame’s three playoff games. The only quarterbacks with more rushing yards than Leonard this season were Army’s Bryson Daily (1,659), Jacksonville State’s Tyler Huff (1,344), Navy’s Blake Horvath (1,246), New Mexico’s Devon Dampier (1,166) and Ohio State’s Parker Navarro. (1,046). Leonard and running back Jeremiah Love, who is playing through a knee injury but has rushed for 1,121 yards and 17 touchdowns this season, form one of the most effective rushing duos in the country. They should provide a healthy test for an Ohio State defense that ranks third nationally with just 89.9 yards per game, which includes just 35 yards combined against Oregon and Texas in the postseason.

What is the formula for Notre Dame to win this game?

Michael: Create fast food to win the turnover battle. As Notre Dame’s offense has been explosive at times this year — the Fighting Irish have topped 45 points in exactly half of their regular season games and still rank sixth nationally in scoring at 37 points per game — injuries to key players along the offensive line and at running back have led to Back to slow down what first-year coordinator Mike Denbrock can reasonably expect from his unit. Veteran quarterback Riley Leonard lacks the arm strength and receiving weapons to consistently pump the ball down the field, especially against an Ohio State defense that allows the fewest passing yards per game (161.1) of any team in the country. And it’s unclear exactly what Notre Dame’s rushing attack will look like without left tackle Anthony Knapp (high ankle sprain) and with tailback Jeremiah Love (knee) limited to just 17 carries for 64 yards against Penn State and Georgia combined.

All of this means the Fighting Irish would benefit greatly from creating a turnover or two that would deny Ohio State extra possessions and reduce the burden on Notre Dame’s offense, with a lower-scoring game almost certainly amenable to head coach Marcus Freeman and his staff. Defensive background. The good news for Notre Dame fans is that no team in the country has created more takeaways than the Fighting Irish, where defensive coordinator Al Golden oversees an aggressive, ball-roaming group. Notre Dame’s 19 total interceptions, two of which came in the postseason, ranks fifth nationally behind only BYU (22), Texas (22), San Jose State (21) and Penn State (20). While Notre Dame’s tally of 13 fumbles recovered is tied for third nationally behind Memphis (15) and Duke (14). The Fighting Irish have had at least one goal in 14 of 15 games this season. The only exception was the team’s only loss of the season to Northern Illinois.

But: First of all, it would help if defensive coordinator Al Golden followed the Texans’ blueprint for stopping Jeremiah Smith. The star wide receiver had a season-low catch for 3 yards in the Cotton Bowl. Ohio State obviously has a lot of other weapons within its offense, but Smith’s shutdown made things more difficult for Will Howard.

The other thing is that if Notre Dame can continue to play in the passing game (like it did against Penn State) and not rely too heavily on the run (because the Buckeyes’ stout defense would likely have something to say about that), that would pay off. Fighting Irish wideout Jaden Greathouse became the first receiver to surpass 100 receiving yards in a game all season against Penn State, and if Leonard can continue to feed him, Greathouse has shown he has a knack for making big plays.

Since Ohio State has the talent advantage at almost every position, Notre Dame cannot afford to lose the turnover battle or give up conference play as both Oregon and Texas have done in the past two games.

RJ: Run the ball. When it’s 1st and 10, run the ball. When it’s second and neutral, run the ball. And when third down comes – third-and-long or third-and-short – call a pass play using a run option, a run-haul option, or a flat QB pull.

Notre’s recipe for success should revolve around the lower halves of Riley Leonard, Jeremiah Love, and Jadarian Price. Keeping Ohio State’s offense off the field and giving Ohio State’s defense no chance at tackles for loss is how Notre Dame can win the game. Keep in mind that Notre Dame beat Georgia by two touchdowns with Leonard passing for just 90 yards all game. This is the type of game they will have to play to defeat a more talented Buckeyes team.

Who is the biggest X factor in this game?

Royal Jordanian: Agnes Williams. Notre Dame’s tailback was the catalyst for the Fighting Irish’s comeback over Penn State with an explosive reception and 15-yard rush to set up Leonard’s TD rush. Texas exploited a weakness in Ohio State’s defense when it lined up with Jaydon Bleu in the backfield and got a one-on-one matchup with linebacker Sonny Stiles in coverage. Every time Texas QB Quinn Ewers passed to Blue for a TD, the pattern was triggered in Styles, who was beaten in coverage and then caught on a blitz.

Williams has the skills to capitalize on patterns in this game as well. He finished as Notre Dame’s No. 2 receiver against Penn State with five catches for 66 yards.

Michael: Ohio State running back Trevion Henderson. For the second time in as many games, Henderson opened things up for the Buckeyes’ offense with a long touchdown run that demoralized the opposition at a critical moment. In the Rose Bowl, where Henderson finished with 114 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns, he exploded for a 66-yard touchdown near the midway point of the second quarter that pushed Ohio State’s lead to 31-0, all but clinching his team’s trip to the national semifinals. And in the Cotton Bowl, where Henderson finished with 117 scrimmage yards and one score, he turned a 7-7 game around by turning a simple screen pass into a 75-yard touchdown that gave the Buckeyes a huge boost of momentum in the game’s final seconds. Second quarter. Henderson is a real threat at home every time he touches the ball, and this could be the kind of jolt Ohio State needs against Notre Dame’s stellar defense. His total of 31 carries for at least 10 yards leads the country for players with fewer than 150 attempts this season. He’s averaging over 10 yards per 4.3 carry, the best of his career.

But: I’m going with Greathouse. He entered the Orange Bowl with just 31 catches for 359 yards and one touchdown, then had seven catches for 105 yards and a touchdown, tying the game late in the fourth quarter. In order to win, the Irish will have to play in the passing game and Greathouse has the ability to be a dangerous playmaker. Plus, he’s been on the big stage before. While he is just a sophomore in college, he has won three straight Texas state championships at Westlake High School. In the 2021 title game, he had a state championship-record 236 receiving yards with three touchdowns and was named Offensive MVP. He can be a threat for the Irish down the field if Leonard can get him the ball.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in the spring of 2022 on the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on @lakinlitman.

RJ Young is a national college football writer, analyst for FOX Sports, and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on @RJ_Young.

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with a focus on the Big Ten. Follow him on @Michael_Cohen13.

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