Desmond Howard knows what each player on Notre Dame and Ohio State will be facing tonight.
The Fighting Irish and Buckeyes are two hours away from kicking off in the College Football Playoff National Championship in Atlanta. Ohio State has not played for the national title in four years, while Notre Dame last did so 12 years ago. Both teams were left for dead after suffering surprising regular season losses, but recovered to get to Monday night.
In his playing days, Howard not only played in the Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers, he won game MVP honors as the team took home the Lombardi Trophy. The former Heisman Trophy winner and Michigan alum knows the nerves that may be building up in players as they prepare to take the field.
On ESPN’s pregame show tonight, Howard named his key to victory for both teams: working through the emotions and settling into the game.
“I think it’s going to come down to which team can really settle down the soonest, the fastest, the earliest,” Howard said. “Meaning, there’s going to be a flood of emotions and adrenaline going through each and every player as soon as they take this field.”
Howard drew on his own experiences to say he can empathize with what the players are dealing with.
“I know the emotions. I know what’s going through these guys,” Howard said. “When they take the field, you’ve got to settle down into your game plan. I think that’s going to give whichever team can do that the soonest the biggest advantage.”
Ohio State enters tonight favored by as many as nine points depending on what betting line you were able to get. We’ve seen some teams rise up to those expectations in a big game and others crumble under them, so it will be interesting to see how the Buckeyes respond.
Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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