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The National Championship has crept up on the football sphere akin to Jack Sawyer on a quarterback. The day of reckoning is here, as a field of 134 has condensed down to its final 2. A tryst with destiny for both teams that have merited the honor. Unfortunately, though, there’s a price to pay for coming this far.  Injuries are an inevitable ramification of a deep playoff run. Things have transpired this way for Notre Dame and Ohio State alike, albeit to dissimilar degrees.

Notre Dame are suffering more if you were to go by sheer volume. The Fighting Irish have quite literally fought through a ton of adversity on the injury front. HC Marcus Freeman will be without the services of as many as 12 troops when he takes to the proverbial battlefield in Atlanta. One of the more important misses will be pass rusher Rylie Mills, who leads the team in sacks. Notre Dame have fared without him for essentially this entire CFP run and fared alright. But going up against a pass offense as dangerous as Ohio State is a different kettle of fish. Mills aside, there are 3 fresh concerns to contend with.

Freshman O-Tackle Anthonie Knapp left the Orange Bowl limping and will not partake in the Natty. He’s been definitively ruled out. “Anthonie Knapp is out with a high ankle sprain. Expect Rocco Spindler to progress. Will do what’s best for the program in terms of who starts.” said Marcus Freeman, pertaining to the ensuing predicament this causes. Fellow OT Rocco Spindler is still deemed “Questionable” mere hours before the game, and his involvement remains up in the air.

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Additionally, wide receiver Beaux Collins is still “Probable” with a calf strain. “[Beaux ] will work back into practice here in the next couple of days,” said Freeman earlier in the week. “I hope as long as he progresses, he’ll be good to go for the game. But we have to make sure that he progresses as we go through this week.”  Elsewhere, the suspected injury concerns all remain out of the game. If Notre Dame has been hit extensively in multiple places, Ohio State have almost all their concerns stemming from one epicentre.

When it rains, it pours. Ohio State began the season with Josh Simmons at left tackle. Simmons’ season came to a premature end in October owing to a knee injury. Then, his replacement and second-string LT Zen Michalski also went down. Guard Donovan Jackson had to move to tackle instead in a reshuffle. The Buckeyes then lost, quite literally, the centrepiece to their crown. Centre Seth McLaughlin suffered a season-ending injury while in training. As a result, Carson Hinzman, who was filling in for Jackson as a guard, was moved to center. This convoluted ordeal goes to show the extent of the trouble the Buckeyes have been through at the line of scrimmage. Both Simmons and McLaughlin begrudgingly remain out of the biggest game of their careers thus far. But it’s not all doom and gloom in Ryan Day’s camp.

Good news for those of an Ohio State persuasion; Bad news for Notre Dame

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Despite evidently not being free from injury, QB1 Will Howard, star defensive end JT Tuimoloau, and cornerback Denzel Burke are pushing through the pain barrier in order to partake. Updates around their health status will facilitate a collective sigh of relief which will reverberate from the Shoe to the Mercedes-Benz. Notre Dame, rather morbidly, would’ve hoped for a little more equalization on the injury front. Nobody wishes for injuries to the opposition, but hey, this game is a pretty big deal.

The balloon-like swelling on Will Howard’s hand during the Cotton Bowl has indeed come down. “My hand’s good. It was just a weird bruise thing on my hand, but itactually didn’t hurt. Just looked terrible. I didn’t even realize it until, I think, after the TV [cameras] realized!” he said. Will Howard’s health be requisite for the Buckeyes to continue this dominant run down the stretch offensively? Howard will be tasked with throwing into the 2nd best pass defense in the country, only behind his own! No wonder this is the championship game.

From one “weird” incident to another freakish one. JT Tuimoloau feared the worst when teammate Eddrick Houston fell on his ankle in the Cotton Bowl. Tuimoloau refused to exit the game. “God healed me. He took care of my ankle…my ankle is doing great,” he said in the lead-up. The Natty will be his last-ever game in scarlet and grey. Conversely, Denzel Burke did have to exit the Cotton Bowl due to a shoulder injury. However, he says it was precautionary. Burke claims to have trained “every day” and is raring to go.

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It’s safe to say that the injury bug has hit Ohio State a little harder. Add to this, their already superior roster as perceived by the general consensus. It’s not difficult to discern why Vegas thinks the Buckeyes are considerable favourites (-8.5). Notre Dame will have to overcome being shorthanded. Something they’ve displayed along the way in heaps.

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