Worried about opt-outs in the expanded College Football Playoff? We saw the opposite of that in 2024 debut

ATLANTA — There have been performances throughout the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff that should remind us all that players want to play on the biggest stages and at the biggest moments. 

In an age where the prevalent theme of December and January in the sport is complaining about who isn’t playing — opt-outs of the full-game and halftime variety — it is enlightening to dig into who is and what they have to go through to suit up. 

Start with Jeremiyah Love, the standout Notre Dame running back who battled through the flu to play in the first round against Indiana and worked through a knee injury that initially made him to vow not to hurdle anyone against Penn State (a promise that thankfully for fans he broke). 

“He didn’t get a lot of practice reps,” Freeman said of Love after the Orange Bowl. “We were very calculated about what we asked him to do in practice. There was maybe a little doubt on my end, but the closer we got to the game, I said, ‘Okay, he’s going to give it a go.’ The statistics maybe weren’t there in the first half, but him being out there means something to everybody on that offense and everybody on our team. In the second half, he made some Jeremiyah Love plays.”

Love’s 11 carries for 46 yards against the Nittany Lions may not have been his standard output, but as the game went on and Love got going, the Irish needed him in order to battle back in a game that early on seemed like it was slipping away when Penn State jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. Love finished the game without as much soreness as he expected, and now his attention is turned to the ultimate prize. 

“It took me a little minute to warm up, to build up more confidence in my knee,” Love said. “Going into the game, I didn’t really feel…

Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/worried-about-opt-outs-in-the-expanded-college-football-playoff-we-saw-the-opposite-of-that-in-2024-debut/

Author : Richard Johnson

Publish date : 2025-01-19 21:29:00

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