NCAA Football

2024-12-20 - Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Fighting Irish

A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown

Indiana Hoosiers @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
United States : College Football PlayOff First Round
Friday 20th December 2024 - Scheduled 8pm
1am (British Time)

Preview

The new look College Football Playoff kicks off on Friday evening in South Bend with the First Round played over the next couple of days.

We will then move into the Quarter Final around New Year's Day before the Semi Finals and National Championship Game are played in January. The twelve team Playoff is likely to be expanded further in the years ahead, but this is a new era for College Football team and there will not have been many complaints about the twelve that are set to embark on a run towards being crowned National Champions.

That is not to say that there are not surprising schools involved and that is the case on Friday when the Indiana Hoosiers (11-1) make the 200 mile journey to South Bend to take on hosts Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1). Teams coming out of the Big Ten to compete for National honours is not the surprise, but the Hoosiers were not expected to be one of those names and have put together a special season to earn their spot.

However, there is still something for the Hoosiers to prove having come through a relatively weak schedule with the biggest game being the blowout loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Wins over defending Champions Michigan Wolverines and last year's Finalists Washington Huskies deserve some respect, but both of those schools have fallen off the standards set in the 2023 season and so Indiana have arguably not beaten any team of note.

This is a chance to change that narrative against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish who have overcome an upset earlier in the season to take their place in the post-season. Most impressive has been the fact that the Fighting Irish have not only beaten teams, but beaten teams convincingly and they look a real threat to have a very deep run in the Playoff.

Winning this First Round game will move the team onto a date with the Georgia Bulldogs, the SEC Champions, and the Fighting Irish are deserving favourites in this First Round match up.

It is the Defensive unit that have sparked things for the Fighting Irish, while the Offensive Line continues to bully opponents up front and that is going to be the challenge for the Indiana Hoosiers.

Credit has to be given to the Hoosiers Defensive Line for the standard of play they have set all season and even the Ohio State Buckeyes were limited to 4 yards per carry in their big win over Indiana. The Line of Scrimmage is going to see both teams looking to impose themselves when Notre Dame have the ball and a duel-threat Quarter Back in Riley Leonard can help the Fighting Irish to at least play in front of the chains.

The Quarter Back will be asked to manage the game at times and avoid the turnovers that can be such a big part of a tight match up like this one. Riley Leonard has been well protected by this powerful Notre Dame Offensive Line and he will have noted the Will Howard performance for Ohio State, although the fact is that the Indiana Secondary have played well and it will not be a game in which the Fighting Irish can expect to have sustained success.

That will mean looking to lean on the strong Defensive unit that has ground down Offenses that have struggled to find a way to move the ball with any consistency against the Fighting Irish.

One problem for Indiana is that their Offensive Line were not able to establish the run with the same kind of efficiency as they would have hoped when the quality of opponent picked up down the stretch in the regular season. Establishing the run against Notre Dame will be challenging, but the Hoosiers cannot become one-dimensional if they are going to give Kurtis Rourke the opportunity to show off his talents to the nation in a big spot.

Kurtis Rourke might have a bit more time than usual when he steps back to throw the ball down the field, even if the Indiana Offensive Line have had issues in pass protection, and that will give him some chances to make big plays. This is not an easy Secondary to face, especially with Notre Dame's ability to turn the ball over through the air, but Rourke has had a big season and can help his team.

However, it has to be noted that the Quarter Back really struggled when facing the intensity of the Ohio State Defensive unit and this is arguably the second toughest Defense he will have seen this season. It is a potential concern for Indiana and the edge in this one has to be with the home team in a Playoff setting in their tough environment created in South Bend.

An in-State rivalry will be in play here, but Notre Dame look to be the stronger team all around and they may just win at the Line of Scrimmage on both sides to earn the edge in the contest. Covering will not be easy with the line where it is, but the Fighting Irish can make some big Defensive plays to do that and move onto a date with the Georgia Bulldogs in a couple of weeks time.