Penn State Football Must Win These Key Matchups to Beat Notre Dame, Advance to National Championship Game
Penn State Football will face one of its toughest tesst of the season, so far, Thursday against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl.
Penn State sits just one win away from a trip to the National Championship for the first time since 1986.
To get there, the Nittany Lions must win these three key matchups against the Fighting Irish:
Penn State offensive line vs. Notre Dame defensive line
Penn State will have to contend with a tough and fast Notre Dame defensive line in Thursday’s Orange Bowl.
Against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinals, Notre Dame sacked Gunner Stockton four times and recorded nine tackles for a loss. Just before the first half ended, Notre Dame capitalized on one of those sacks, a strip sack by RJ Oben, to give Notre Dame great field position for the Irish’ only offensive touchdown of the day.
In the Fiesta Bowl, the Nittany Lions struggled against Boise State’s heavy blitz packages. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was sacked four times and Boise State recorded seven tackles for a loss in the Penn State Fiesta Bowl win. If the Nittany Lions want to be able to keep the offense in front of the chains, Penn State’s offensive line will need to hold up better against the blitz against Notre Dame.
Penn State’s offensive line also must be up to the task of creating holes for the running game against Notre Dame’s defense. Georgia rushed for only 66 yards against Notre Dame’s defense in the Sugar Bowl, although the Bulldogs played from behind for the entire second half.
The Nittany Lions’ running game has come alive in the Nittany Lions last four games, with the Nittany Lions rushing for 216, 189, 297, and 219 yards in those contests. In order to keep Notre Dame’s defense honest and open things up for Drew Allar and the passing game, Penn State’s offensive line must create holes for Penn State’s stellar junior running back tandem on Thursday.
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Penn State linebackers vs. Riley Leonard
Riley Leonard is one of the best running quarterbacks Penn State has seen this season.
Leonard averages 59.4 rushing yards per game and 5.6 yards per rush this season. When Leonard is running the ball well and extending drives with his legs, Notre Dame’s offense is very dynamic. However, Notre Dame’s passing offense ranks just 107th in the country.
If Penn State Football can corral Riley Leonard and limit his damage rushing the football, Penn State’s secondary could help shut down Notre Dame’s offense in obvious passing situations. This would also allow Penn State’s star pass rushers Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton to feast in the backfield, although Carter’s status against Notre Dame is still up in the air.
Penn State Football has faced a few dual threat quarterbacks this season, although maybe not as good of one as Riley Leonard has been for the Fighting Irish. Against SMU’s Kevin Jennings in the first round of the college football playoff, the Nittany Lions limited Jennings to negative 25 yards on eight carries after Jennings had rushed for 379 yards and five touchdowns coming into the contest.
Reducing Riley Leonard’s ground threat and limiting the damage he can do with his legs will be key to Penn State’s ability to shut down the Notre Dame offense. If Leonard is constantly able to move the sticks on the ground for the Fighting Irish, the Penn State defense could be in for a long night.
On the other hand, if the Nittany Lions are able to keep Leonard in the backfield and limit his ability to use his legs, the Nittany Lions secondary will have a chance to force a momentum shifting turnover, as the Nittany Lions have done in the past two college football playoff games.
Drew Allar vs. Notre Dame secondary
Notre Dame and Penn State’s running games are very similar this season. Notre Dame ranks 34th in the nation in run defense in 2024. Notre Dame ranks 41st in passing defense in 2024, giving up an average of 224.5 passing yards per game. If the Nittany Lions want to be successful on the ground, Drew Allar and the passing game must force Notre Dame to stay honest on defense and not allow the Fighting Irish to stack the box.
Allar must be careful with the football and accurate against the Fighting Irish secondary that ranks third in the nation in interceptions with 18 on the season.
Allar must not turn the ball over while attempting to move the ball through the air for the Nittany Lions if the Nittany Lions want to upset the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame’s only offensive touchdown against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl came because of a turnover in the red zone.
With the Orange Bowl looking like it could come down to the margins, a turnover could prove costly in a tight matchup with the Fighting Irish.
Penn State is currently a 1.5-point underdog Thursday against the Fighting Irish in the Orange Bowl. If the Nittany Lions want to pull off the upset, these three key matchups could go a long way to helping Penn State win as an underdog for the fist time since week one of the 2021 season against Wisconsin.
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- Penn State Football Must Win These Key Matchups to Beat Notre Dame, Advance to National Championship Game - January 6, 2025
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