Game: Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl
Teams: #7 Ohio State (11-1, 7-1 Big Ten) vs #8 Notre Dame (10-2)
Time: January 1, 1 p.m. EST
Location: University of Phoenix Stadium – Glendale, Arizona
TV: ESPN
In a battle of college football bluebloods, the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish will do battle in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. Both teams had playoff aspirations before, as well as during most of, the 2015 season began. However, the Fiesta Bowl is a pretty good consolation prize.
Even though Ohio State’s offense was not up to the usual Urban Meyer standards in 2015, it was still a strong unit. The Buckeyes rank 12th nationally in rushing offense (241.9 yards per game) and 32nd in scoring offense (35 points per game). However, the Buckeye pass offense 104th-ranked pass offense (187 yards per game) has left a lot to be desired.
The Buckeye offense largely revolves around two players, running back Zeke Elliot and quarterback J.T. Barrett. Elliot rushed for 1,672 yards and 19 touchdowns this season. Barrett completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 781 yards, 10 touchdowns, and three interceptions. Barrett also rushed for 586 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Buckeyes leading passer is Cardale Jones, who completed 62.5 percent of passes for 1,460 yards, eight touchdowns, and five interceptions this season. However, after starting the first nine games of the season, Jones was benched for Barret and he attempted just two passes in Ohio State’s final three games of the season.
If Ohio State’s offense is going to be successful in this game, it’s going to have to run the ball. If Notre Dame’s defense is going to be successful, it will need to stop the Buckeye rushing attack. It is that simple.
This season, the Buckeye defense has been one of the best in the country. Ohio State ranks 7th nationally in total defense (304 yards per game), 10th in passing defense (176.2 yards per game), 21st in rush defense (127.3 yards per game), and 2nd in scoring defense (14 points per game).
The Buckeye defense is led by two dynamic playmakers in defensive end Joey Bosa and linebacker Darron Lee. Both Bosa and Lee are on their way to being first-round NFL Draft picks, and Bosa will get some serious consideration for being the first pick in this spring’s draft.
However, the Buckeye defense will be undermanned on Friday. All-conference defensive tackle Adolphus Washington will be suspended due to solicitation charges. Washington is one of the best defensive tackles in the country, and a big loss for the Buckeyes.
As for the Fighting Irish, they have battled a ton of injuries this season and this, in my opinion, has been by far Brian Kelly’s best coaching job at Notre Dame. Furthermore, I also believe this is the most talented team he has had during his tenure in South Bend.
Notre Dame is a team that does nothing great, but everything well. The Irish offense ranks 25th nationally in rushing yards per game (214.8), 37th in passing yard per game (256.7), and 33rd in scoring offense (34.8 points per game).
Notre Dame lost starting quarterback Malik Zaire in the second game of the season against Virginia this year, however, sophomore DeShone Kizer stepped in and excelled. Kizer completed 63.4 percent of his passes this season for 2,600 yards, 19 touchdowns, and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 499 yards and nine touchdowns. For my money, Kizer is one of the five best dual-threat quarterbacks in the FBS.
The leading rusher for the Irish this season is C.J. Prosise who has rushed for 1,032 yards and 11 touchdowns. True freshman, and Pennsylvania native, Josh Adams will also see carries. This season, Adams has rushed for 757 yards and five touchdowns.
Notre Dame’s offense also features arguably the best wide receiver in the FBS in Will Fuller. The former Penn State commit has caught 56 passes for 1,145 yards, 13 touchdowns, and is averaging 20.4 yards per reception this season. The Irish’s next leading receiver is Chris Brown with 562 yards on 44 receptions.
For the Irish to have offensive success in this game I believe they will need to have a balanced attack against the Buckeye defense. In my opinion, they should also try to exploit the lack of Adolphus Washington to try and get C.J. Prosise, Josh Adams, and the rushing game going early in the game. Also, I believe they will need at least three big plays out of Will Fuller if they are going to win this game.
The Irish defense this season checks in at 37th nationally in total defense (362 yards per game), 26th in passing defense (195.9 yards per game), 62nd in rushing defense (166.5 yards per game), and 34th in scoring defense (22.4 points per game).
Notre Dame’s strength on defense is against the pass, but they struggle some against the run. In my opinion, this does not bode well for them in the Fiesta Bowl because Ohio State struggles throwing the ball but excels at rushing the football.
The bad news for the Irish is that they will be down a pair of starters in the Fiesta Bowl, the good news is that they are both in the secondary. Safety Max Redfield is suspended for violating team rules, and cornerback Devin Butler will miss the game due to injury. Normally this would sound strange but due to J.T. Barret being a better runner than thrower, the Irish missing two starting defensive backs may not hurt them too badly.
In the end, I think the Buckeye offense will prove to be too much for the Fighting Irish to handle. Also, in my opinion, Urban Meyer is the best coach in college football and I can not bring myself to pick against him. Finally, Notre Dame has a history of not showing up in big games like this and Ohio State’s history in such games is a complete 180.
Prediction: Ohio State 35, Notre Dame 21