Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/616353
GAME PREVIEW: OHIO STATE On PaPer BY BRYAN DRISKELL OHIO STATE RUNNING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME RUN DEFENSE Ohio State ranks 12th nationally in yards per game (241.9) and ninth in yards per attempt (5.7). Junior tailback Ezekiel Elliott is fifth in the country with 1,672 rushing yards and tied for second with 19 rushing touchdowns. Despite limited opportunities, redshirt sophomore quarterback J.T. Barrett finished the season with 586 yards and 11 scores. Those numbers are strong, and OSU has a talented and dangerous ground attack, but the Buckeyes have been erratic. In between a season-opening perfor- mance of 359 yards in a win over Virginia Tech and a 369-yard performance against Michigan's solid run defense to close out the season, the Buckeyes were inconsistent. OSU was held to just 3.71 yards per rush against Hawai'i, 3.87 yards per rush against Maryland and 4.3 yards per rush against Minnesota. In Ohio State's only loss, Michigan State limited the Buckeyes to just 86 rushing yards. The Irish, meanwhile, have been inconsistent stop- ping the run game for much of the season. They rank 65th nationally in yards allowed, giving up 166.5 per game. Notre Dame has had its bright spots, like holding Texas to just 60 yards and Temple to 107 yards, and limiting Heisman Trophy finalist Christian McCaffrey of Stanford to just 94 yards on 27 carries. But bouts of poor tackling and giving up 24 runs of 20-plus yards have been issues. Advantage: Ohio State OHIO STATE PASSING GAME VS. NOTRE DAME PASS DEFENSE The Buckeyes like to quickly get the ball to their outside receivers and utilize play action to create home-run opportunities against defenses that start paying too much attention to the run game. Junior wide receiver Michael Thomas leads OSU with 49 receptions, 709 receiving yards and eight touchdown catches. Redshirt sophomore slot re- ceiver Jalin Marshall has excellent speed and big play ability, and ranks second on the team with 31 catches, 448 receiving yards and five touchdown grabs. From a yards standpoint, Notre Dame has de- fended the pass well, ranking 28th nationally in yards allowed per game (195.9). The issue has been its inability to put together a consistent pass rush and a propensity for giving up big plays. Notre Dame ranks 77th in yards per catch allowed (12.5) and has intercepted just eight passes. Giving up too many chunk plays and the inability to force turnovers resulted in Notre Dame ranking just 61st in pass efficiency defense. However, the Irish are good enough to contain OSU's aerial attack. Advantage: Notre Dame The return of redshirt sophomore quarterback J.T. Barrett to the starting lineup gave the Buckeyes' run game a late-season surge, highlighted by a 369-yard effort at Michigan Nov. 28. PHOTO COURTESY OHIO STATE