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The College Football Playoff will feature the top 12 teams in the country competing in an expanded version this season. We’ve been used to a 4-team playoff, but we’re in for a real treat this year with the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams. The tournament’s first game occurs Friday, December 20 in South Bend, Indiana between #10 Indiana and #7 Notre Dame.
Both teams were spectacular in the regular season and will fight for a chance to play Georgia in the next round. Here’s a brief review of each team’s regular season and a preview of the upcoming playoff game.
Head coach Curt Cignetti has completely turned around the Indiana football program. Cignetti left James Madison and joined Indiana ahead of the 2024 season and led the Hoosiers to an 11-1 regular season record. His immediate success earned him the National Coach of the Year honor.
The only snag to Indiana’s fantastic regular season is that they didn’t have too hard of a schedule. It certainly got more difficult as the season progressed, and they took on Michigan and Ohio State in back-to-back games. Indiana beat Michigan 20-15, earning them a lot of national attention. However, Ohio State was up next and was the toughest opponent on their schedule. The Buckeyes dominated the Hoosiers on both sides of the ball and won 38-15 as quarterback Kurtis Rourke was held to just 68 passing yards.
Indiana finished their season with a commanding 66-0 win over Purdue and entered the College Football Playoff as the #10 seed with a tough schedule ahead.
The Fighting Irish also finished with an 11-1 record, but their one loss became a huge black eye on their resume. While Indiana lost to Ohio State, which wasn’t too surprising, the Irish lost to Northern Illinois in September. It was a massive upset and knocked Notre Dame down in the rankings for weeks.
Notre Dame didn’t stay down for long, as they won every game after that loss and finished as the #5 team in the country. Unlike Indiana, Notre Dame had a much more difficult schedule. The Irish beat Texas A&M, Navy, Army, and USC as notable victories. The biggest reason for their success this season has been their high-powered offense. Notre Dame concluded their season scoring 49, 31, 51, 52, 35, 49 and 49 points in their final seven games.
The combination of Riley Leonard under center and the duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price in the backfield has been the key to success for the offense. Notre Dame dominated the ground game all season long, and that likely won’t stop in the playoff.
Notre Dame’s offense has been one of the best in the country. The primary reason is quarterback Riley Leonard, a seasoned veteran and the perfect arm for the Fighting Irish offense. Leonard won’t light up the stat sheet with his passing yards, considering he’s topped 200 yards only four times this season, but he’s the go-to guy when Notre Dame is in the red zone. That’s led to Leonard throwing 2+ touchdowns in his last three consecutive games and six of the previous eight games.
The Indiana secondary has been the main issue on defense. Against Ohio State, the defense allowed Will Howard to complete 22 of his 26 passes for 201 yards and 2 touchdowns. Expect Notre Dame to attack the Indiana secondary throughout the game, leaving Leonard with plenty of opportunities to throw multiple touchdowns.
Keith is a sports writer who has evolved into a sports betting personality across social media in the past several years. He specializes in MLB but also writes about the NFL and NBA.