Quick turnaround for Notre Dame football puts a premium on time management before Orange Bowl

SOUTH BEND — Tyler Warren, Penn State football’s beast of a tight end, isn’t the only “44” Notre Dame must deal with in this College Football Playoff semifinal matchup.

There’s also the need to somehow negate Penn State’s 44 1/2-hour advantage in preparation time between the quarterfinal round and the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens on Jan. 9.

The sixth-seeded Nittany Lions (13-2), coming off a 31-14 win over third-seeded Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, kicked off a little after 7:30 p.m. Eastern time on New Year’s Eve in Glendale, Ariz.

Notre Dame (13-1), seeded seventh, saw its scheduled 8:45 p.m. kickoff on New Year’s Night pushed back to 4 p.m. Eastern time on Jan. 2 after the tragedy on Bourbon Street.

“By the time we got to the plane, the coaching staff had to turn our attention to Penn State,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said Saturday. “We all must put all our effort and attention to preparing for Penn State and making sure we’re ready for this opportunity in front of us.”

Analysis: Not a bad output for a Notre Dame football program that only ‘minors’ in transfers

The disparity in turnaround time might have been even greater if not for Sugar Bowl officials and the City of New Orleans agreeing to move up the rescheduled kickoff by nearly five hours. That gave the Irish traveling party an opportunity to return to South Bend late Thursday night after a 23-10 win over SEC champion Georgia.

“If you don’t prepare the right way, the reality is that moment on Thursday will be our last great moment,” Freeman said. “Nobody in our program wants that but the reality is it doesn’t matter what you want. It’s going to be about what you’re willing to do. We have to put in the work necessary to achieve the result that we want.”

Notre Dame went 13 days between games following its…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/quick-turnaround-notre-dame-football-213009143.html

Author : South Bend Tribune

Publish date : 2025-01-04 21:30:00

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