Notre Dame has a long and storied history, but never has it played in a game like the one it’s about to play against Indiana. For the first time, the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, and that means first-round games for teams that didn’t earn a bye will take place on campus sites.
The catch is byes only are awarded to conference champions, and because the Irish are independent, they never will earn a bye under this new format. But this will count as the extra game they would have had to play anyway had they been in a conference, so it all balances out that way.
Irish fans surely will agree that playing that extra game at Notre Dame Stadium more than makes up for not being able to get a bye. The historic venue will be packed to the brim, and it’s expected to be very loud in anticipation of a victory that will advance the Irish to the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.
Here are the players most likely to be responsible for a victory:
Passing
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Riley Leonard: 194 for 293 (66.2%), 2,092 yards, 7.1 yards a pass attempt, 16 touchdowns, five interceptions
Rushing
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Receiving
Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Touchdowns
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
- Love: 17
- Leonard: 14
- Price: seven
- Evans: three
- Five tied with two.
Tackles
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
Sacks
Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
Interceptions
Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
