No surprises
On Thursday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Orange Bowl for the rights to move on to the National Championship game of the College Football Playoff.
The Irish have dealt with many different injuries this season, and as a result, we see a depth chart this is vastly different from the one we had back in August — yet it never seems to change much, and is never really questioned either. The mentality of “next man in” is something this program has fully embraced.
OFFENSE
The offensive depth chart remains intact, but obviously all eyes are on Jeremiyah Love. There is a lot of “gait watching” going on with his every movement, but I’m not sure we will have much of a clue before gameday where he’s at as far as his knee is concerned. Good thing Jadarian Price is more than capable of carrying a heavier load along with Aneyas Williams. Tight End Cooper Flanagan is done for the year, and although the Irish have moved Jack Larsen to Varsity, he is not listed with Eli Raridon and Mitchell Evans on the depth chart.
DEFENSE
The depth chart for the defense remains unchanged after the Sugar Bowl. Rotations and personnel packages will allow many of the two-deep to play, but I am still concerned about the workload along the defensive line. I think the Irish will need more snaps from Armel Mukam in this game to stay fresh up front.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The special teams shined against Georgia. There’s no need for any type of change, and Mitch Jeter has become an assassin.