Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman knows Penn State is loaded: ‘They’ve got guys’

SOUTH BEND —Notre Dame football, Orange Bowl-bound and set to face Penn State for the first time in 17 seasons, won’t have to search very long to find star power in Happy Valley.

From the Mackey Award winner in tight end Tyler Warren to the Big Ten defensive player of the year in Abdul Carter, the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions have no shortage of high-end talent.

“They’ve got some guys,” Notre Dame football coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday. “I think they’re fourth in the FBS in terms of interceptions. I mean, they’ve got guys.”

Notre Dame (13-1) is tied with the Nittany Lions (13-2) in interceptions with 18, but the Irish lead the nation in total takeaways (31) and are tied for second in turnover margin (plus-18). Penn State is plus-10 in turnover margin, tied for 13th in FBS.

“Defensively, they create a lot of havoc, and it doesn’t have to be with a pressure but their front four (can) create havoc,” Freeman said. “They do a good job stopping the run and getting after the quarterback in the pass game. And, No. 11, the (defensive) end Carter … he’s as good as anybody in college football at his position. He’s a talented pass rusher.”

A junior from Philadelphia, Carter is 6-foot-3 and 252 pounds of menace off the edge. He ranks fourth on the team with 63 tackles, including 21.5 tackles for loss.

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Carter has 11 sacks, eight quarterback hits, three pass breakups and two forced fumbles. Sixteen different defenders have combined for 39 sacks, tied for 14th in FBS and two more than Notre Dame.

On offense, Warren stands 6-6 and 261 pounds, has 12 combined touchdowns (eight receiving, four rushing). A fifth-year senior from Mechanicsville, Va., a Richmond suburb, Warren has 98 catches…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-football-coach-marcus-233245509.html

Author : South Bend Tribune

Publish date : 2025-01-04 23:32:00

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