College football analyst Adam King believes that there may be some limitations to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish attempting to copy the Texas Longhorns’ blueprint in shutting down the Ohio State Buckeyes in the National Championship Game. While appearing on WBNS 10TV and discussing the major contest, King explained how teams have been solid in shutting down Ohio State but differed from Notre Dame in one way.
What Did Adam King Say About Notre Dame’s Defense?
That difference came in the way the Fighting Irish like to set up defensively. According to King, Notre Dame loves to play man coverage defensively, something the school indicated that they would keep doing in the title game.
As a result, Buckeyes receivers and offensive stars will have more 1-on-1 scenarios that could potentially play to the strengths of stars like Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka.
King made evident that Notre Dame loves playing man coverage when on defense, which differs from the strategies used by teams like Texas, Michigan, and Nebraska this season.
“Notre Dame can steal the blueprint from Texas, they could steal it from Michigan, they could even steal it from Nebraska. The only problem there is they love man coverage. That’s who they are. They’ve said this week they’re going to play man coverage,” King stated.
King additionally detailed how the talent of Ohio State’s wide receivers may make it difficult for Notre Dame to succeed in the game by playing this type of defense.
“This Ohio State receiver trio, you cannot play man coverage against. It’s just, it’s not going to work,” King added.
National Championship Preview
Despite King’s stark warning, Notre Dame does possess one of the best defensive units in the nation. In fact, if there were a program that could shut down the Buckeyes receivers in man coverage, it could very well be the Fighting Irish.
Marcus Freeman’s defense is averaging only 14.3 points against per game, which ranks second in college football — only behind Ohio State.
MORE: How To Watch Ohio State vs. Notre Dame CFP National Championship
With stars like Xavier Watts, Adon Shuler, and Christian Gray, a trio that has 15 total forced turnovers amongst them, the contest does appear to be a good one between a dominant offense and a shutdown defense.
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