The Notre Dame Fighting Irish face No. 8 Ohio State in Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship game. Fortunately for Notre Dame, it received positive news regarding one of its top injured offensive players following last week’s last-second 27-24 Orange Bowl victory over No. 6 Penn State.
In that triumph, sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love rushed 11 times for 46 yards and a touchdown due to a knee injury sustained in the regular-season finale against USC, which he aggravated against Penn State. But as Notre Dame prepares for its biggest game of the season, Love looks to have no restrictions.
“I’m good, I’m 100%,” Love told On3 on Saturday. “I am ready to depart. It has been a challenge. But if it isn’t hard, it’s not good. I’ve just been going along for the ride. I feel as if God has got me. I have great trust in this staff.” In the Irish’s 23-10 triumph against No. 2 Georgia in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals two weeks ago, Love had only six carries for 19 yards. The week before that, he had a 98-yard touchdown run in Notre Dame’s 27-17 victory over No. 10 Indiana in the CFP first round.
Love leads Notre Dame in rushing with 1,22 yards and 17 touchdowns, and he also contributes as a receiver out of the backfield, with 26 catches, 232 yards, and two touchdowns via the air.
Ohio State has the best defense in the country, allowing only 251.1 yards of total offense, 89.9 yards of rushing offense, and 12.2 points per game, and Notre Dame would have a difficult time defeating the Buckeyes, who ripped through No. 1 Oregon, No. 5 Texas, and No. 9 Tennessee, without Love.
