{"id":71811,"date":"2025-01-19T13:00:24","date_gmt":"2025-01-19T18:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=71811"},"modified":"2025-09-20T14:14:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T18:14:04","slug":"keys-for-a-notre-dame-win-in-the-cfp-national-championship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/01\/19\/keys-for-a-notre-dame-win-in-the-cfp-national-championship\/","title":{"rendered":"Keys for a Notre Dame Win in the CFP National Championship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keys for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes<\/a> reside in all three phases. \u00a0The Irish possess a relentless rushing attack, an elite defense, and game-changing special teams. With a stable of explosive running backs and a dual-threat quarterback, the Irish\u2019s ground game has proved an unstoppable force this season. On the other side of the ball, the Irish\u2019s defense, decimated by injuries, is one of the best units in the country. And special teams have made their presence felt with momentum-turning big plays. Notre Dame will likely need standouts in all three phases and then some to return to South Bend as national champions.<\/p>\n

Keys for a Notre Dame Win<\/h2>\n

Notre Dame Needs More Than Love<\/h3>\n

In an unprecedented season of success, the Irish are already Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl champions. Their 14 wins is the most in program history. Despite the achievements, the Irish find themselves just four quarters away from a CFP National Championship. Make no mistake, the task at hand is a challenging one, facing a highly talented Ohio State squad. But if Notre Dame is a team of destiny this year, the Irish will need more weapons than just Jeremiyah Love<\/a>. The explosive running back has run all over opposing defenses this year. He has been hampered throughout the postseason by a hurt knee but is a go for Monday night\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

The Irish have relied on their potent rushing attack all season long. But opening the offense should serve them well against the Buckeyes. By mixing in more play-action on early downs, Ohio State will have to respect the playmaking ability of Jordan Faison<\/a>, Beaux Collins<\/a>, and Jaden Greathouse<\/a>. That approach could also create underneath for tight end Mitchell Evans<\/a>. If Ohio State takes away the downfield threats, Riley Leonard<\/a> can extend plays with his legs.<\/p>\n

Facing a stout Buckeyes defensive unit, the Irish will need to lean on the running game to wear down Ohio State and control the tempo of the game. By controlling the clock, Notre Dame can keep Ohio State\u2019s high-octane offense off the field. The ability of Mike Denbrock\u2019s offense to pound the rock can be a decisive factor.<\/p>\n

A Golden Defense<\/h3>\n

Although it is dotted with backup players, Notre Dame\u2019s defense has risen to the occasion all season long. Al Golden\u2019s unit has been pushed around a bit in the postseason. Penn State drove down the field almost at will in the first half of the Orange Bowl. Led by Xavier Watts in the secondary, the Irish are among the best defenses in the nation at playing man coverage. But Ohio State is loaded with weapons with Jeremiah Smith<\/a>, Emeka Egbuka<\/a>, and Carnell Tate<\/a>. With Quinshon Judkins<\/a> and TreVeyon Henderson<\/a> out of the backfield, Notre Dame\u2019s defensive front, led by Howard Cross III<\/a> and missing Rylie Mills<\/a>,\u00a0is certain to have its hands full. The defenders in the trenches will have to stop the run and still create ways of applying pressure on quarterback Will Howard<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Special Teams Need to Be Special in CFP National Championship<\/h3>\n

Notre Dame\u2019s special teams have been aggressive this year. Whether it is a punt block, a fake punt, or a record-setting kickoff return, the special team units have stepped up when needed. Special teams could once again play a key role in determining the outcome of the CFP title game for the Irish. Having kicker Mitch Jeter<\/a> back on track following an injury earlier this season has also returned dividends in the postseason.<\/p>\n

The blueprint for a Notre Dame victory in the CFP National Championship is clear. Establish a clock-eating rushing attack to control the game\u2019s tempo. Unleash a stubborn, ball-hawking, and swarming defense to disrupt Ohio State\u2019s explosive offense. And execute an aggressive effort on special teams to seize critical momentum. These three pillars are needed in unison to give the Irish the edge they need. With discipline, determination, and a full-team effort, Notre Dame can turn an unprecedented season into a championship one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Keys for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes reside in all three phases. \u00a0The Irish possess a relentless rushing attack, an elite defense, and game-changing special teams. With a stable of explosive running backs and a dual-threat quarterback, the Irish\u2019s ground game has proved an […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4854,"featured_media":71828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10906,11,35676,35609],"tags":[1512,6850,6781,259,73],"class_list":["post-71811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-cfb","category-independents","category-notre-dame-fighting-irish","category-ohio-state-buckeyes","tag-al-golden","tag-marcus-freeman","tag-mike-denbrock","tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish","tag-ohio-state-buckeyes"],"modified_by":"Michael Kovacs, ADMIN","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71811"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71829,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71811\/revisions\/71829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}