Courage, luck and (maybe) ghosts: Notre Dame’s complex path to stunning Ohio State in the national championship game

ATLANTA — Notre Dame’s longest passing play of the season is a bit of a paradox. The Irish don’t really do it TO DO long passing games.

Notre Dame is 102nd nationally in passing offense, worst by far among the 12 teams in this season’s College Football Playoff. The 194 passing yards per game are also the worst for Notre Dame since the 2017 Fighting Irish team had Malik Zaire throw the rock.

But the passing game, the playoffs and the season — perhaps a national championship season — may have resulted in an explosive play in the Orange Bowl semifinal against Penn State.

Irish receiver Jaden Greathouse lined up against cornerback Cam Miller. In an instant, Miller fell as if he had been tasered.

“I take credit for his fall on that one,” Greathouse said happily.

That left the sophomore receiver wide open on the right sideline, with his team trailing 24-17 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining. Quarterback Riley Leonard may have never had an easier throw, hitting Greathouse in stride for a 54-yard score all season long.

To reach the end zone, Greathouse then threw a recreational league head fake at Penn State safety Jalen Reed. Reed fell too, his ankles and hopes shattered.

Seconds later, the game was tied in a game that would end in a 3-point Notre Dame victory. This tale of Irish football continued.

All of this needs to be addressed in proper context ahead of Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship, without diving into a vat of clichés about Leprechauns, Echoes and Rudys.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said at Saturday’s media day. “I believe in God.”

The lasting reality? Well, it’s complicated – and inspiring.

The underdog Irish have a chance against Ohio State, although you may not have heard much of that kind of talk this week. They have a chance despite being double-digit underdogs. They have a chance, but the path is complex because the reasons are not easy to quantify.

These Irish were so beaten up at times that a stretcher came with the game plan. Two offensive line starters were lost to Purdue in the third game of the season. (One returned four weeks later). Two different o-line starters lost to Penn State. One of the backups, Tosh Baker, has four career starts in five seasons.

Starting corner Leonard Moore was forced into action after the Irish’s top defensive back, Benjamin Morrison, suffered a hip injury in Week 7. This week, Moore was named the team’s first-year defensive player. year by the Football Writers Association of America.

Christian Gray was part of a defense that gave up 557 yards to USC. A mere mortal might have needed some football advice after being harassed like this. Then he intercepted a pass and ran back on a 99-yard pick. All-American Xavier Watts also took a 100-yarder shortly after.

Notre Dame won by 14, ending a 12-week postseason bounce after Northern Illinois’ loss.

Who cares about 557 meters?

You might also remember Gray after knocking out Penn State with that late interception. The sophomore from St. Louis was among Marcus Freeman’s first commitments.

“On the first (recruiting) visit, to be completely honest with you, I found the place pretty boring,” Gray said. “I didn’t know where it was. I didn’t even know it was in Indiana.

It just started to change every time I came back. I just thought, “Okay, this place is different.” »

So different, sometimes, that we couldn’t recognize the Irish this season. Notre Dame’s top defensive lineman, Howard Cross III, missed three games. His last solo tackle was more than two months ago. Defensive tackle Riley Mills was ruled out for the season in the first-round game against Indiana.

Since running back Jeremiah Love had the longest run in CFP history — 98 yards for a score against the Hoosiers — the running game has averaged just 3.27 per carry.

Penn State’s comeback was sparked by a late first-half field goal led by backup quarterback Steve Angeli.

This is a team that a heartless biker gang could love. Leonard did not take any “official or unofficial” visits – in his words – during recruiting. He got to Duke because his personal pitching coach, David Morris, had played for then-Blue Devils coach David Cutcliffe at Ole Miss.

“It’s crazy to think where I am today,” Leonard said.

Is this good enough – or bad – for you?

The temptation is to invoke the wink-and-nod influence of some 134-foot-tall mosaic deity overlooking the entire enterprise.

The Irish claim it is something else – something more courage than luck.

“We really shouldn’t bother,” Greathouse added. “We have playmakers. Whether everyone sees it or not, we don’t care.”

A school record 14 wins was achieved by some level of magic during this postseason. Notre Dame couldn’t afford to lose after being upset by Northern Illinois, so they didn’t lose. The 13-game winning streak currently leads the country.

A program that couldn’t compete athletically in the biggest games suddenly becomes dictated to.

“If you go to the tournament, it’s a completely different experience,” said former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel, who has reason to support both teams. “Throw out all your stuff to prepare the bowl, because it’s a different beast.”

In three similar BCS/CFP games, the Irish were outscored by a total of 72 points. In the 2013 BCS Championship Game, Alabama was charitable in a 42-14 victory. In a 2019 CFP semifinal, Notre Dame was run off the field by Clemson 30-3. Two years later, Alabama did the honors again with a score of 31-14.

This Notre Dame plays much the same way as those teams, dominated by defense with physical play on both lines and — sorry, Jaden — a lack of big-time playmakers.

But there is a path laid out by intangible elements towards victory for the Irish. Ask Tressel. He coached Ohio State for nine years before resigning in 2011. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman played for Tressel from 2004-08.

Above all, this Notre Dame looks a lot like Tressel’s 2002 Ohio State team, which won half of its 14 games by a touchdown or less.

These “Luckyes” were also prohibitive underdogs. They were also overwhelmed in the championship game by Miami, a team loaded with NFL talent. But Tressel designed a game plan that dragged the Hurricanes through the mud and made them value every possession.

This was an all-time Miami team. Maybe THE Miami’s all-time team. Of Miami’s 13 possessions in regulation, four ended with a punt and three ended with a fumble. Three others ended in a missed basket.

The greatest play in the game – perhaps the greatest play in Ohio State history before last Friday — was Maurice Clarett’s interception of Sean Taylor.

“We’ve faced it time and time again,” Tressel told CBS Sports. “It didn’t scare us to be in an unfavorable moment. The more you are tested in combat, it helps. That’s why when you lift weights, you tear the muscles, they get bigger. When your team she trains, she grows.

Twenty-two years later, it remains difficult to draw a line under the Irish. These are gumbos made from different ingredients.

• The top 10 defense has given up more than 25 points in just three games since the start of 2023.
• Opponent passing efficiency and completion percentage lead the nation.
• Notre Dame is one of four teams to be man-covered more than half the time this season. And as demonstrated above, it worked.
• The Irish are the kings of the “middle 8”, the last 4 minutes of the first half and the first 4 minutes of the second half. They have outscored the opposition 27-0 over that span in the playoffs. They are second nationally during the season.
• The Irish lead the country in turnovers (32) and points (151).
• Kicker Mitch Jeter went from being a liability (6 of 12 in the regular season) to potentially being in the team photo if Notre Dame wins it all. With his hip healed, the senior is 7 of 8 in the postseason, including the game-winning kick against Penn State.
• Talk about omens. Notre Dame’s 4-0 record against the Big Ten this season is the best against the conference by a team since 1993. No team has ever won five times in a season against the Big Ten in the era of Notre Dame. wire (since 1936).

Leonard suggested this week that it was some kind of “divine teaching.” But before applying that solely to Notre Dame’s religious foundations, he said both teams had thrived metaphysically.

“I really think these kinds of things happen for a reason,” Leonard said. “Not only us, but also Ohio State. I think we are the two main teams that display our faith the most publicly…I truly believe that Jesus looked over both of our shoulders throughout the season and put these two teams on a pedestal for a reason.

This doesn’t answer the question of why the other 10 playoff teams weren’t put on a pedestal, but that’s a separate theological question for another time.

The teams competing in the national championship were both booed at home. Perhaps this is a sign of the times NIL. These may be excessive expectations for two blue bloods.

“We can’t play to make sure everyone’s cheering for us,” Freeman said earlier this season.

Maybe that was also a starting point. Freeman lost two of those championship games as an Ohio State player in 2006 and 2007.

No wonder Freeman made a point of reminding his team of its worst moment on the 100th anniversary of Northern Illinois’ defeat in mid-December.

“Understanding and remembering the pain we felt in that moment and never wanting to feel it again,” Gray said.

Ohio State has its own demons trying to pull off the ultimate comeback after the Michigan loss – the difference being the Buckeyes should win big.

For Notre Dame, there is a path blazed by courage, luck, and perhaps even ghosts.

We will find out Monday evening. You really shouldn’t play with one of these teams.