Notre Dame’s pursuit of its first national football championship in nearly 40 years is one of self-belief.
“This team has really bought into winning this entire thing,” wide receiver Jaden Greathouse said Wednesday.
Greathouse, speaking to media less than a week removed from perhaps his biggest play of the season, when he got past two defenders in Penn State’s secondary en route to a game-tying, 54-yard touchdown with less than five minutes remaining in the College Football Playoff semifinal, emphasized a team chemistry that propels confidence for the Irish.
“We’re really not to be messed with,” Greathouse said. “We have playmakers, and whether everybody sees that or not, we don’t really care. We’re going to do what we do.”
That belief – that sticking with who they are will be enough to win the national championship game against Ohio State on Monday in Atlanta – echoed in several players’ comments this week.
“We’re not going to change who we are,” freshman cornerback Leonard Moore said when asked about how to defend Ohio State’s high-powered offense.
“A lot of teams have went to the zone mindset with playing them,” Moore observed. “We’re going to play man coverage like we do every week. We’re going to go out there and challenge the receivers.”
Moore has good reason to be confident after the Orange Bowl, when Notre Dame held Penn State wide receivers to zero receptions. But the Irish know that Ohio State will present a challenge.
Linebacker Jaylen Sneed says the defensive unit will need to improve from its Orange Bowl performance. “We just really talked about being more violent, playing a little bit faster this game, just learning from our mistakes that happened last game.
“Felt like we started a little slow in the first half last week. I think we want to start fast.”
In the Buckeyes’ three games in this College Football Playoff, only Texas has held Ohio State to fewer than 30 points, and the Longhorns still went out with a 14-point loss.
“They’ve just got a ton of athletes everywhere,” defensive lineman Joshua Burnham noted.
Indeed, Ohio State has what’s considered by many to be the best wide receiver room in the country, coupled with a dangerous running back duo on offense and complemented by a veteran defense that ranks first in the nation in yards allowed per game.
Quarterback Riley Leonard is conscious of how that defense can make things difficult for him.
“One thing I saw from Ohio State [in their semifinal win over Texas] was their ability to get to the quarterback, specifically on third down,” Leonard said Wednesday. “So I got to really be good with my protection adjustments and knowing what I’m getting, make sure the O line sliding in the right direction.”
As members of the team noted modifications needed to face Monday’s challenges, they also maintained their belief that the Irish can succeed in any situation.
“We know how to respond at this point and fix our mistakes,” Leonard said.
“After [the upset loss to NIU], it was like, shoot, forget being the best team in the country. You got to be the best team on the field every single week.”
Using the NIU loss as fuel has been a consistent message all season, from head coach Marcus Freeman down through the roster.
“It means a lot,” Sneed said. “Knowing that we were the embarrassment of college football at one point when we lost to NIU, and now we’re coming back bigger, badder, stronger than ever.”
It’s a message that could only resonate with a team that functions as a cohesive unit with trust in each other at the center. And trusting each other has become a requirement for the Irish as several key playmakers have had injuries keep them out.
“We have a lot of lot of depth, and it’s really shown with all the injuries we’ve had,” Burnham said. “I think it’s been a huge help seeing everyone is a hard-working individual, and it really pushes each other to be great.”
The success of backups who have become starters feeds Notre Dame’s belief in individual efforts that make the collective great. Freshman running back Aneyas Williams pointed to Leonard’s efforts, especially when he puts his body on the line using his legs, as inspiration for the rest of the team.
“Knowing that your quarterback has your back, has the team’s back like that, it just pushes your team to another level,” said Williams. “There’s not much that we wouldn’t do for him, but just knowing he would do anything for us, that’s what makes this team.”
Greathouse expressed similar feelings on individual contributions driving the group forward. “I really just think it comes down to our playmakers being playmakers,” he said, circling back to that belief that what this Notre Dame team has – what it is – will be enough.
“We’re going to go out there and just try to be the best version of ourselves, and we know that that’s going to be what it’s going to take to win the game. And that’s what we plan to do.”
