The Penn State Nittany Lions on Tuesday will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the 2024 Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff semifinals. The Nittany Lions are underdogs for just the third time this season against Marcus Freeman and company.
What does Penn State need to do to ensure victory on Thursday? Happy Valley Insider offers three keys to victory below.
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1. Contain Jeremiyah Love and Riley Leonard on the ground
The Fighting Irish offense runs through the ground game, literally. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has orchestrated a rushing attack that is 11th in the nation, averaging 217.5 yards per game and has the fourth-most rushing touchdowns in the country, with 42.
Star running back Jeremiyah Love and quarterback Riley Leonard have been the driving forces behind that charge. That tandem has combined for 1,907 yards and 31 touchdowns for the Fighting Irish this season.
Leonard offers a true dual threat option for the Penn State defense to battle with on Thursday, as he has five outings with 70 or more rushing yards this season, including 80 yards in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. Love was stifled against the Bulldogs, with only 19 yards, but averaged 118.5 yards and had six touchdowns in his previous four games.
Penn State has been one of the top run defense in the country, however, giving up only 100.8 yards per game, good for eighth-best in the nation. Only three teams have eclipsed over 121 yards against the Nittany Lions this season, two of which resulted in losses for James Franklin and company.
The Nittany Lions will need to keep Notre Dame's ground game in check to secure a National Championship Game appearance.
2. Take care of the football, win turnover battle
Perhaps the calling card of Notre Dame's elite defense this season has been the ability to take the football away from its opponents with regularity. Coming into Thursday, the Fighting Irish are number one in the country in takeaways with 31 and tied for second in turnover margin with a mark of plus 18.
Notre Dame's suffocating secondary has been the catalyst behind that charge, including safeties Xavier Watts and Adon Shuler, who have a combined nine interceptions between the two. The Fighting Irish have also had a knack for turning picks into points, having a nation-best five interceptions returned for touchdowns.
That is what Drew Allar and the Penn State offense will have to contend with on Thursday, the but good news is the Nittany Lions have been almost as good at both protecting and taking away the ball.
Penn State is 13th in the nation in turnover margin, with a plus 10 margin, while having one more turnover (14) than the Fighting Irish.
Quarterbacks on both sides have been efficient protecting the football this season with Allar having seven interceptions and Riley Leonard throwing only six. The evenly matched dispersion creates a bigger need for the Nittany Lions to maintain their safe ways on Thursday, which could be the difference against the Fighting Irish.
3. Create big plays through the air
This is going to best perhaps the toughest of the three keys to victory against the Fighting Irish, creating big plays in the passing game.
Drew Allar and the Penn State offense have improved in that area from last season, ranking in the top 30 nationally in pass plays of 20+ yards. However, that number dips to 86th in the nation for 30+ yard gains and 108th for 40+ yard gains. Conversely, Notre Dame is top 20 in the country in limiting passing plays of 20+, 30+ and 40+ yards this season.
As Penn State prepares for perhaps the best secondary in all of college football, offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki is tasked with scheming up explosive plays through the air to help crack the Fighting Irish' defensive code.
Drew Allar also bears weight on his shoulders as he looks to continue recent success and help elevate Penn State to new heights on Thursday night in Miami.
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