Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl Preview, TV Schedule, Prediction

By Andrew Frosceno
Ohio State football
Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

TV Schedule: Friday January 1, 1:00 p.m. ET, ESPN

Stadium: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz.

Line: Ohio St. (-6.5)

The No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes (11-1) and the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2) will square off in the Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. With these two historic programs getting together on such a big stage, it has all the makings of a fun and passionate showdown in the desert.

Buckeye coach Urban Meyer is going to want to show the nation that Ohio State still is a playoff caliber team and that they are as talented as anyone in the playoff. The Buckeyes will be led by superstar running back Ezekiel Elliott, who put up another spectacular season in Columbus. Elliott has 1,672 rushing yards this season and a whopping 19 touchdowns. He certainly carried the offense for most of the season when they struggled mightily during the back and forth quarterback situation. If Ohio State was in the playoff, it’s safe to say Elliott probably would have been in New York for the Heisman ceremony.

Joining Elliott as a player to watch on offense will be J.T. Barrett, who should see a bulk of the snaps under center for the Buckeyes. After all the back and forth with Cardale Jones, Barrett has emerged as the starter over the last few weeks of the season. His ability to run meshed much better with their style of offense over Jones. It will be interesting, however, to see if Meyer puts Jones in for a few packages, since it has been widely reported that he will be turning pro this season. After what Jones did for the team last year, Meyer may owe Jones some action in what should be his final game at Ohio State.

On defense look out of stud defensive end Joey Bosa. It will be important to see what the pass rusher can do to effect the Notre Dame offense. If Ohio State and their No. 10 ranked YPG defense can slow down and turn over the Irish, they have a real good chance of ending the season on a high note.

For Notre Dame, DeShone Kizer is the clear cut pick for the key to victory in this one. He has done a fine job since he took over for the injured Malik Zaire. He saved Notre Dame’s season and got them to this point with his 2,596 yards and 19 scores. It will be important to see if injured back C.J. Prosise is able to suit up and join him on the field. If not, freshman Josh Adams, who stepped in nicely with over 700 yards rushing, should easily fill the void. Receiver Will Fuller is also a key on offense for the Irish. Notre Dame has to take care of the ball because they cannot afford to give the Buckeyes any extra help if they want any chance of winning this one.

Don’t tell these two teams that this game isn’t as important as the two semifinal games the night before. This game has just as much talent and potential to be great as those two. Both squads should come out ready to play one heck of a football game. In the end, it should become a game that is on the higher scoring end of the spectrum. The offenses are loaded with athletic playmakers, but Ohio State may have just a bit too much talent. Prepare to sit down and recover from celebrating the New Year by watching this one.

Prediction: Ohio State 37, Notre Dame 30

 Andrew Frosceno covers the New York Giants, college football, college basketball and MLB for www.Rantsports.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Google or Facebook.

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