The storylines are clear—Marcus Freeman facing his alma mater, Ryan Day's redemption tour, and whether Notre Dame can pull Ohio State into another rock fight like the one that ended the Buckeyes' regular season.
But in an era where highlights and sound bites typically dominate the narrative, one specific discussion about what will happen on the field has remained above the fold: the Irish's reliance on man coverage against this explosive Buckeye passing game. Thus far, Freeman and his team maintain they'll continue to do what they do best, even though some of the numbers being thrown around about their reliance on the tactic are surely swayed by playing two service academies and numerous run-heavy offenses like Texas A&M and Georgia Tech.
Although the success of the OSU passing game may well be the deciding factor in this contest, it won't be the only one. While there isn't much we can take from last season's regular season matchup between these two teams when the Irish have the ball, as they replaced both quarterback and coordinator this past winter, we can learn plenty from Al Golden's defensive game plan that night in South Bend.
Here's what we go over in this special video breakdown:
- Notre Dame's well-coached and diverse run game
- Riley Leonard can bring a lot to the table but also leaves you wanting more
- Answers for Notre Dame's man coverage schemes
- How Golden largely stifled the OSU zone-run game with odd fronts
Click the header photo above to watch the video, or head straight to YouTube.
