Fighting Irish Look to Shock the World in the Rose Bowl
As soon as the College Football Playoffs were announced and that #4 Notre Dame would face #1 Alabama in the Rose Bowl, everyone said the game would be a blowout. On paper, the experts are not wrong, as Alabama is hands down the best team this year. Going into the game, Alabama is favored by 19 points, which is the biggest spread in the playoffs history. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t in the group of Irish fans that weren’t thrilled to see the Irish land in the playoffs to only face Alabama. The task is a tall one, and Alabama has tons more talent than Notre Dame; but the disrespect is insane. To say the Irish don’t belong or don’t have a chance is a flat out lie.
If Notre Dame is going to hang with Alabama and possibly pull off the upset, these four guys will be the reason why:
- Ian Book – Notre Dame’s winningest QB looks to have a big bounce back game after the loss vs Clemson. When Book has the chance to extend the play, good things happen. That will be easier said than done vs Alabama, but if he can get out of the pocket and find his playmakers, then good things will happen on offense.
- Kyle Hamilton – The playmaking safety will have his hands full making sure the Heisman finalist Devonta Smith doesn’t make big plays. Alabama has speed everywhere on offense, and it will be up to the Hamilton-led secondary to keep the Tide playmakers in front of them. The talent gap that showed last time these two teams played in the BCS Championship is a lot smaller today, and Hamilton is one of those guys who could play for Alabama. He will need to be a game-changer today.
- Kyren Williams – If the Irish are going to keep the ball away from the high-powered Alabama offense, it will be up to Williams and the run game to do so. We have seen Williams make the big plays all year and take over a game. From the first meeting with Clemson to the game vs North Carolina, Williams has proven that he can dominate on the ground and the Irish will need that vs Alabama. Williams will also need to help give Ian Book time to throw, and while Williams has been awesome all year picking up the blitzer, he will need to continue that today.
- Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah – It will be up to the Butkus Award winner to make sure Alabama doesn’t run wild over the Irish defensive front. The Tide are led by Najee Harris at the running back position, and if the Irish want to pull off the upset, Harris can’t take over the game. Like Hamilton, Jeremiah is a talent that can make plays that change the game – and we saw that vs Clemson in November. Look for the senior linebacker to be all over the field on Friday.
The narrative that has been beat do death the last two weeks is how “Notre Dame doesn’t show up in big bowl games.” In college football, no team is the same as it was the year before; so comparing this Notre Dame team to the 2012 BCS Title team or any other Notre Dame team that’s been to a New Years bowl game is pointless. I see Notre Dame bouncing back and playing a lot better than they did vs Clemson two weeks ago. All that these guys have heard since the match up with Alabama was set is that they “do not belong” or that “the game will be a blowout.” This will 100% motivate them to play well. They have zero to lose, as no one is expecting them to win, which is why I expect the Irish to surprise a lot of people on Friday afternoon. Will the Irish win? Maybe, but it is is going to take an almost perfect game from the Irish if that’s going to happen. You also don’t have to go far back in the history books to see the last time Notre Dame beat the #1 team when the Irish were ranked #4.