Notre Dame has defied the odds at several different points of the 2024 season, and if the Irish want to capture their first national title in over 35 years, they’re going to have to do it one more time.
Of course, their final hurdle might be their toughest: a date with the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday, Jan. 20. As if a matchup with the red-hot Buckeyes — who turned away Texas in the Cotton Bowl in dramatic fashion on Friday night after blasting Tennessee and Oregon in the first two rounds — wasn’t daunting enough, Notre Dame will also have to do it short-handed.
Left tackle Anthonie Knapp and right guard Rocco Spindler both went down in the semifinal win over Penn State, forcing tackle Charles Jagusah — whose pectoral injury in fall camp thrust Knapp into the starting lineup in the first place — to make an emergency return at guard. Star defensive lineman Rylie Mills and cornerback Benjamin Morrison are already out for the year, and defensive tackle Howard Cross, QB Riley Leonard and running back Jeremiyah Love are all playing hurt right now…