Notre Dame Fighting Irish tailback Jeremiyah Love will be ready to face the Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday in the Orange Bowl. Love has been working out with the team, and coach Marcus Freeman has pronounced him fit to play.
Jeremiyah Love Injury Update: Notre Dame Full of Love in the Orange Bowl
Love, who was nursing a knee injury he sustained in the Sugar Bowl win over the Georgia Bulldogs, will play in the national semifinal against the sixth-seeded Nittany Lions.
“He’s had a good week of practice. We have to be smart about how much we’re asking him to do in practice,” Freeman said. “No one is 100 percent right now. He’ll be good to go.”
With Love limited to six carries against Georgia, quarterback Riley Leonard and backup running back Jadarian Price picked up the slack and kept up with Notre Dame’s ball-control offense.
Love leads the Fighting Irish in rushing with 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns. He is also a capable receiver out of the backfield, as he has caught 25 passes for 226 yards and an additional two scores.
Love has been battling knee problems since the regular season finale against the USC Trojans. He did not practice much in the week leading up to the first-round game against Indiana, yet still accounted for 108 yards on eight carries. He also scored on an electrifying 98-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to blow the game open.
To help Love carry the load, the Irish will also rely on Price to run the ball. Price totaled 720 yards rushing and scored seven touchdowns on the season. Against USC, after Love was nicked up, he ran for a career-high 111 yards. He is as equally as dangerous as Love.
Either way, Penn State will have its hands full with the Irish ground game, which includes a lot of quarterback draws and RPOs with Leonard carrying the ball.
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