In a 16-game season, it is no surprise that both teams in the title game are a bit banged up.
It has been a long season for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ohio State Buckeyes. Both teams will be playing their 16th game of the college football season on Monday night in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. In many ways, football is a war of attrition. The physicality of the game inherently leads to injuries of both the short and long-term variety.
While both the Irish and Buckeyes come into the title game with some season-ending injuries to their roster, both are relatively healthy, given the length of the season. From an Ohio State perspective, head coach Ryan Day, strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti, and the entire staff have had a plan all season long to get players to this point as fresh and healthy as possible.
Not only has OSU been rotating players at key positions more often this season than in years past, but they have also dramatically slowed down the tempo with which the offense operates. Instead of a no-huddle, quick-snap approach, the Buckeye offense has been slow and methodical. The purpose of that philosophy change was to make sure that when the Buckeyes got to the end of the season and were playing their most important games they were as close to full strength as possible.
Well, that time is now, so let’s take a look at where both the Buckeyes and Irish are in terms of injuries heading into the title game. Which players are able to go on Monday night — and how close to 100% they are — will have a huge impact on the outcome of the game. As of publishing time, the FanDuel Sportsbook has Ohio State as an 8.5-point favorite with the total points mark set at 46.5.
Ohio State
As Notre Dame does, the Buckeyes are dealing with a number of season-ending injuries to key contributors. Most notable are the offensive linemen Josh Simmons and Seth McLaughlin. Fortunately for the Bucks, they have weeks of experience playing without those guys, so they at least have experience playing without them.
As for the more recent injuries impacting Ryan Day’s squad, coming out of the hard-fought Cotton Bowl win over the Texas Longhorns, there are a number of things to keep an eye on.
Will Howard | Quarterback
Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images
If you are squeamish like me, chances are that you didn’t enjoy the constant closeups of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard’s engorged left hand during the Cotton Bowl. It appeared that the Kansas State transfer hit his non-throwing hand on a helmet early in the game, and as time went on, his hand became increasingly discolored and swollen.
It did not appear to impact his play, as he finished the game with 289 yards passing. During media availabilities this week, Howard said that the visible signs of injury were caused by a popped blood vessel suffered in the second quarter. He noted that the swelling decreased as the game went on, and that he wasn’t in any pain, and that it had happened before.
“I just looked down and it was pretty big. It happened earlier in the season too. Nobody really noticed then.”
There is no expectation that Howard will be hampered by the injury. However, in case something does happen that keeps him out of the game, his backup Devin Brown will be available, despite the fact that he entered the transfer portal in early December.
Coming into the game, Howard has +320 odds from FanDuel to score a touchdown. This does not include passing touchdowns, as it has to be the person who carries the ball into, or receives the ball in, the end zone. So, it appears that the oddsmakers aren’t too worried about his ability to hold onto the football.
Denzel Burke | Cornerback
Against the Horns, Ohio State starting cornerback Denzel Burke only played 28 snaps, all of which came in the first half. During the game, there was no obvious indication as to what happened to the defensive back, but in the Sunday media availability following the game, Day described Burke’s injury as minor and that he would be back for the title game against Notre Dame.
“He’ll be available for the next game,” Day said. “He was dealing with an upper extremity issue that we felt like, at the time, was the right thing to do to hold him.
That was reiterated later in the week when defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said that while those types of decisions were quote “above my pay grade,” as far as he knew, everything was good to go.
Listen to Knowles and Chip Kelly’s presser here:
J.T. Tuimoloau | Defensive End
During the game against Texas, edge rusher J.T. Tuimoloau was rolled up on during a friendly fire incident that saw true freshman Eddrick Houston blocked into his lower leg. The situation required attention from the medical staff as Tuimoloau was having trouble walking. The senior went to the medical tent and had his ankle heavily taped. He was seen on the sideline jumping up and down and sprinting in order to test his ankle. While he remained out for the remainder of the first half, he did return after the break and finished the game with seven tackles, including 2.5 for loss on 45 snaps.
Austin Siereveld | Offensive guard
Coming into the Cotton Bowl, Ohio State had used a three-man lineup of Austin Siereveld, Tegra Tshabola, and Luke Montgomery at the two guard positions. However, against Texas, Siereveld only played 17 snaps, splitting time at right guard with Tshabola; Montgomery played the entire game at LG.
In his media session posted above, Kelly confirmed that Siereveld was dealing with an injury, but did not elaborate. If Siereveld is unable to go, or is limited in how much he can handle, Montgomery and Tshabola have experience in the two spots to go it alone.
Notre Dame
Similar to Ohio State, the Fighting Irish are dealing with injuries along the offensive line. However, they do not have the benefit of time, like the Buckeyes do. However, injuries are not the only thing that Notre Dame is dealing with as this week, head coach Marcus Freeman confirmed that the flu is running through the team as well.
“I think probably over half of our team has gotten it already, so I don’t think it will have an impact on this week’s game,” Freeman said. “Ohio State is probably dealing with it, too.”
Anthonie Knapp | Offensive Tackle
In their semifinal game against the Penn State Nittany Lions, freshman All-American left tackle Anthonie Knapp suffered an ankle injury, and when talking to the media three days after the Orange Bowl, Freeman confirmed that his blindside tackle will not be able to play against Ohio State.
While ND has not confirmed its plans for the game, it has been reported — and even said outright by the player — that redshirt freshman Charles Jagusah will start in Knapp’s stead. Coming into the fall, it was Jagusah who was the starter, but he tore his pectoral during preseason camp. He returned for the quarterfinal matchup with Georgia and played on five special teams snaps, but came in as an injury replacement for Rocco Spindler (more on that in a minute) against PSU.
However, he did not play tackle; instead, he lined up at right guard where he took 53 snaps. While Jagusah is a talented young player, he has not had much in terms of game reps with the offensive line, and none at the position he is expected to be playing on Monday night. Whether or not they will be able to gel enough in the week and a half between games, could go a long way to determining if the Irish offense can withstand Ohio State’s aggressive defensive front.
Jeremiyah Love | Running Back
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In the Sugar Bowl against the Georgia Bulldogs, Notre Dame’s leading running back Jeremiyah Love suffered a knee injury in the third quarter. He was sandwiched by multiple defenders as he was attempting to block for quarterback Riley Leonard. After the play he was noticeably limping as he left the field, and did not return for the rest of the game.
However, the 1,100-yard rusher did play the following week against Penn State. While the results weren’t what HD fans are used to seeing from him, his presence still made an impact. Against the Nittany Lions, Love had 11 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown. That means that he averaged 4.2 yards per carry, down from the 7.1 he has averaged on the season as a whole.
Fortunately for Irish fans, Love is expected to be ready for the game on Monday night. While there is no telling how impactful the injury will be 11 days after he last played, the offense will almost certainly be better for having him available.
FanDuel is giving love +135 odds to score a touchdown at some point in the game, the top odds for anyone wearing a golden dome for a helmet.
Rylie Mills | Defensive Tackle
In ND’s 27-17 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers in the first round of the playoff, the team’s sack leader Rylie Mills suffered a right knee injury while sacking IU QB Kurtis Rourke. While trying to pull the quarterback down, he left his feet and was whipped into teammate Jaylen Sneed, causing his knee to bend the wrong way. Initially, Freeman said that there was optimism that he would return for the playoff run, but that did not come to pass, as Mills has been ruled out for the season. Mills finished the season with 7.5 sacks per game, good for 37th nationally.
Rocco Spindler | Offensive Guard
In addition to Knapp’s injury, the ND offensive line is also having to contend with right guard Rocco Spindler’s ongoing right ankle injury. He has been playing in and out of the lineup and exited the game against Penn State late in the first half. It was his injury that brought Jagusah into the game.
Despite having to leave against Indiana and Penn State, Spindler will reportedly be available on Monday night.