As the Notre Dame Fighting Irish prepare to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff national championship game, it’s evident that the Irish are unlikely to make significant changes to their defense. Throughout the season, they have predominantly utilized man coverage, leaning on a single-high cover-1 scheme. However, this approach could prove challenging against Ohio State, which possesses one of the best receiving corps in the nation.
The Buckeyes have excelled against man coverage all season. Quarterback Will Howard, in particular, leads the country in completion percentage and quarterback rating when up against this style of defense. Despite this, Notre Dame remains committed to their identity and is not expected to alter their defensive strategy. Cornerback Leonard Moore stated, “A lot of teams have gone to the zone mindset when playing them. I think Penn State played a decent amount of man. That’s their identity. But going into this game, we’re not going to change who we are. We’re going to play man coverage like we do every week. We’re going to go out there and challenge their receivers.”
Ohio State shares the sentiment that Notre Dame won’t make drastic changes. Wide receivers coach Brian Hartline noted, “What [the Irish do] they do very, very well. So for them to change up what they do would be kind of silly. They’re really, really good players, great players on the outside. And we’re great players on the outside, too. It’s what you want in a game of this magnitude.”
This sets the stage for an exciting clash between Notre Dame’s formidable man-to-man defense and Ohio State’s explosive passing attack. We’ll have to see which team emerges victorious.
