By CURT RALLO The Associated Press
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense have faced a fierce gauntlet of defenses in their path to the College Football Playoff title game.
The Fighting Irish battled their way through Penn State (No. 7 in total defense), Georgia (No. 30) and Indiana (No. 2). Now, the nation’s top-ranked defense stands in the way of a return to college football’s mountaintop for the first time since 1988.
Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2) meet Monday night in Atlanta for the 12-team format’s first national championship game.
Ohio State’s defense is ranked No. 1 overall and No. 3 against the run. The Buckeyes have outscored playoff opponents Tennessee, Oregon and Texas 111-52, and have limited them to 62.3 yards per game rushing (1.9 yards per carry).
It was the Buckeyes’ defense that delivered the dagger in the 28-14 semifinal victory against Texas – Jack Sawyer’s 83-yard scoop-and-score as the Longhorns were poised to potentially tie the score late in the fourth quarter.
Leonard and Notre Dame rely on the run to open up their offense, and they’ll face a daunting challenge in the Buckeyes, who opened as 9½-point favorites, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.
“I love the underdog status,” Leonard said. “I love it, I love it. I love it. There’s nothing that motivates me more than to see certain things said or certain spreads out there, which I don’t really look at, but it was brought to my attention today what it is. So I love it.”
Leonard expects a bruising Ohio State attack.
“I could imagine them playing a lot like Penn State,” Leonard said. “Penn State was a really hard playing team … very physical up front in the way they attack the quarterback.”
Notre Dame gained 116 yards rushing in its 27-24 victory against Penn State, with Leonard accounting for 35 yards.
Against Georgia, Notre Dame only passed for 90 yards, but Leonard broke through for 80 yards rushing. The Fighting Irish had 154 yards on the ground.
Notre Dame averaged 421.3 yards of total offense in the regular season, but against three rock-solid defenses in the playoffs, the Fighting Irish average 340.7 yards of total offense.
Notre Dame has made big plays when it has needed to, and Leonard feels the Fighting Irish offense is battle-tested.
“Luckily, we’ve played against a lot of good defenses this year, and a lot of good defensive lines, which Ohio State has a really good one,” Leonard said. “I think after beating Penn State and beating Georgia, we kind of understand, like, you know, we’re up there with anybody.”
Notre Dame receiver Jaden Greathouse, whose juke move against Penn State cleared the way for a 54-yard touchdown that pulled Notre Dame to 24-24 with the Nittany Lions, also loves the underdog role.
“It’s just having an attack mindset, really, I mean, we’ve had it this whole season,” Greathouse said. “We’ve had it the whole playoff run, and it’s been going well for us.”
Notre Dame running back Aneyas Williams, who has emerged as a key contributor in the playoffs, is also excited about facing a stellar Ohio State defense.
“I love going against the best competition and that’s what we look forward to,” Williams said. “I want to play at my best and be at my best against the best.”
Williams is looking forward to the challenge and the edge of an underdog mentality.
“We’ve been counted out since NIU so, I mean, that just tells you what that’s done for this team.”
TEAMS ARRIVE IN ATLANTA
Ohio State and Notre Dame arrived in Atlanta on charter flights on Friday as the teams moved closer to their showdown.
The Buckeyes are big favorites but the Fighting Irish might have an advantage. Coach Marcus Freeman’s team has previously played in Atlanta – and in Mercedes-Benz Stadium – this season.
In a game that strengthened Notre Dame’s playoff hopes, the Fighting Irish beat Georgia Tech, 31-13, on Oct. 19 as Leonard ran for two touchdowns.
Is the familiarity with the stadium an advantage for Notre Dame?
“We hope so,” Freeman said at the Atlanta airport. “Now we are on the other side of the field and in a different locker room, but we have played here. We know what it’s like. Each team will have two opportunities to go into the stadium and practice so by the time Monday gets here I think both teams will be comfortable with the environment.”
Atlanta is the home of the College Football Hall of Fame and is the self-proclaimed “Capital of College Football.” The city hosts the Peach Bowl, the SEC championship game and other high-profile games such as the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game.
Atlanta is a short drive from Athens and the University of Georgia, which won the 2021 and 2022 national championships. The South’s claim to be the base of power in the game is up for debate as Ohio State could give the Big Ten its second consecutive national champion and Notre Dame also traveled from the Midwest.
Michigan beat Washington in last year’s title game to give the Big Ten its first national championship in football since Ohio State’s last title in 2014.
Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2) survived the first 12-game playoff to reach the championship game.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he believes his team prepared well for the long season.
“We talked about it all year,” Day said minutes after exiting the plane. “I think we are. Our energy actually picked up week in and week out. I feel the momentum. You know, when you have momentum, you’ve got to keep it. I feel like we’ve continued to get stronger as the season’s gone on.
“We’ve had a plan on how we are going to do that. And so now again, we have to be at our best. The whole plan has been to get to this point right now. And so we have got more days to get prepared to go do it.”
Freeman said the playoff schedule included “a lot of meaningful games.”
“You don’t play in the national championship every week,” Freeman said. “We know that. But we’ve played in a lot of meaningful games and we understand what the expectations are. Monday will be different. We know the excitement and the lights will be brighter.”
AP sports writer Charles Odum contributed to this story.
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