Notre Dame loves playing man coverage, but will that work against Ohio State football?

In Ohio State’s first two College Football Playoff games this season, Jeremiah Smith caught 13 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns in lopsided victories.

Texas learned from that in Friday’s semifinal. The Longhorns geared their pass coverage toward stopping Smith with a combination of man and zone coverages, often with multiple defenders. He caught one pass for 3 yards. A Will Howard pass intended for Smith was intercepted in the third quarter of the 28-14 victory.

Notre Dame, Ohio State’s opponent in Monday’s national championship game, prides itself on playing press, man-to-man coverage. Whether the Fighting Irish can do that successfully against Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate will largely determine if they can pull off the upset in Atlanta.

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith (4) tackles Texas Longhorns linebacker David Gbenda (33) after Gbenda made an interception during the second half of the Cotton Bowl Classic College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Jan. 10, 2025. Ohio State won 28-14.

Playing man-to-man against those receivers might seem like a fool’s errand, but Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is hardly overconfident.

“Al Golden does a great job with that defense,” Kelly said Tuesday, referring to Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator. “They mix and match their coverages. They’re one of the top defenses in the country, and they’re really well-coordinated. Their front and their back end work really well together. That’s a challenge we’re going to have on Monday night.”

Notre Dame ranks second nationally in passing yards allowed with 165.3 per game, trailing only Ohio State. The Irish have done so despite losing projected first-round NFL pick Benjamin Morrison to a season-ending hip injury in October.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/notre-dame-loves-playing-man-212257011.html

Author : The Columbus Dispatch

Publish date : 2025-01-14 21:22:00

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