NFL
By: Matt Gehring
Notre Dame takes the field on New Years Eve at 1pm eastern time to take on the Buckeyes of Ohio State in the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. This game has all of the makings to be an instant classic as these two historical powerhouses will fight for supremacy and carry that momentum into the 2016 season. There are many storylines and matchups to watch out for leading up to and during the game.
Storylines: One of the biggest storylines leading up to the game are all of the NFL prospects that will playing on both sides of the ball for the Irish and the Buckeyes. According to many mock drafts and “big boards”, Between the two teams, there will be potentially 7 players that could go in the first round in the NFL draft in 2016. Notre Dame’s Linebacker Jaylon Smith, Offensive Linemen Ronnie Stanley, and Defensive Linemen Sheldon Day headline that list for the Irish. The Buckeyes that are part of this list are Defensive End Joey Bosa, Running Back Ezekiel Elliot, Defensive Linemen Adolphus Washington, and Offensive Linemen Taylor Decker. Jaylon Smith has yet to say whether or not he will be entering the draft, although all signs point to this being his last game with the Irish as he is projected to be a top-10 pick. A question mark now surrounds Adolphus Washington has he has been suspended for the Fiesta Bowl for being arrested on charges of solicitation. His draft stock is now in question as a result of this.
Key Matchups: One of the marquee matchups of this game will be between Irish OL Ronnie Stanley and OSU DE Joey Bosa. This will be a matchup that all NFL will be drooling over. However, with the recent development with DL Adolphus Washington, do not be surprised if Bosa moves around a lot on the D-Line to create different matchup issues for the other interior O-Linemen of the Irish. Another matchup that will be a game changer will be between Notre Dame Wide Receiver Will Fuller and Ohio State Defensive Backs Gareon Conley and Eli Apple. The reason for both matching up against Fuller is because the one thing that could work into the Buckeyes favor is to rotate matchups with Fuller and give him different looks. Watch out for OSU Safety Von Bell coming over the top and whichever DB staying underneath to create almost a double team – zone look that could confuse the offense.
X-Factor: The x-factor for this game will be the Redzone play of Quarterback Deshone Kizer. This season, Kizer has had some issues with Redzone turnovers, which has caused huge momentum shifts. If Kizer can keep calm in the Redzone, stay true to his game, and not try to force passes, the Irish will have success on that side of the field. For the Irish Defense, Jaylon Smith keeping Ezekiel Elliot contained will be the difference between and Irish W and L. Smith’s speed, play reading ability, and killer instinct is something that the Buckeye Offense has not seen this season from any defensive player.
Prediction:
Offense: Push
Defense: Notre Dame
Special Teams: Ohio State
Coaching: Push
Final Score: Notre Dame 23 – Ohio State 20
