Then, for the biggest play of the game, Notre Dame decided to leave Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on an island. It was third and 12 and the Fighting Irish would get the ball back with a stop with a chance to tie the game. Smith completely burned his defender and he was wide open for a huge gain, and he iced the game.

Everything is on the line as college football looks to determine its champion with Notre Dame taking on Ohio State in a historic College Football Playoff Nation

Ohio State and Notre Dame arrived in Atlanta on their charter flights on Friday as the teams moved closer to Monday night’s College Football Playoff national championship game.

Ohio State has to jump out early, spread the ball around, use pace, and control the line of scrimmage to thwart Notre Dame’s running game. Ohio State has played at a faster pace in the postseason and look for that to continue. The defense will want to make Leonard throw the ball by making the Notre Dame offense one-dimensional.

The Fighting Irish have been on the lookout for a new defensive coordinator following Golden's move to the Cincinnati Bengals of the NFL and appear to be keen on an ex-Rutgers head honcho

This now leaves Marcus Freeman with the task of finding only his second defensive coordinator as he enters his fourth season at Notre Dame. Initially, there were rumors that Freem

Notre Dame football has wasted little time attempting to fill its defensive coordinator vacancy after losing Al Golden to the NFL. The Irish are eyeing former Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Chris Ash to join head coach Marcus Freeman’s staff as the program attempts to build off its College Football Playoff runner-up finish this season,