The stage is set for Marcus Freeman and James Franklin. One more game, and one of them will have the chance to win the national championship. The Penn State-Notre Dame matchup doesn’t have a history in terms of a ‘rivalry’, but even then, it’s their 20th game against each other. The last time? In 2007, when the Nittany Lions triumphed over the Fighting Irish (31-10). Interestingly, the overall record is tied at 9-9-1. The lone ‘tie’ came around 100 years ago, in 1925.

Of course, there is that whole angle of Notre Dame almost joining the B1G conference in the 1990s. However, they cherish their ‘independent’ and ‘Catholic’ character at Notre Dame. Hence, the move never went ahead. This time around, the Fighting Irish may have to get past two B1G teams (Penn State and Ohio State) to win the grand prize after a wait of over three decades. Considering the gravity of the matchup, we are here to update you on things on the injury front. Who’s available, and who may miss out? Let us get into it.

Let us start with the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. None other than the Nittany Lions’ All-American edge rusher Abdul Carter. James Franklin’s defensive star suffered an upper-body injury during Penn State’s quarterfinal clash (Fiesta Bowl) against the Boise State. Of course, just the mere stats can show us how crucial Carter is to stop Notre Dame’s offense. 63 tackles (40 solo), 11 sacks. But if you have seen him play, it’s impossible that you didn’t notice his impact. He’s a nightmare for O-lines.

Talking about Carter in his weekly media address, head coach James Franklin deemed his availability a “game-time decision”. However, much to the pleasure of the Lions’ faithful, Franklin appeared optimistic about his star defenders’ chances of making the game.

“We anticipate Abdul playing,” Franklin said. “He’s doing everything he possibly can to play. His approach has been awesome. He’s lived in the training room, it’ll be a game-time decision, and we’ll see.”

In other news, the availability of wide receiver Tyseer Denmark, backup kicker Sander Sahayadak, and tight end Joey Schlaffer is also under doubt. However, there’s another player whose presence (or absence) can make or break it for one of the teams.

Is Jeremiyah Love available for the Orange Bowl?

We have an important injury update on the other side of the matchup as well. The Fighting Irish’ running back Jeremiyah Love hasn’t had the best of the times on the injury front. The availability of Love, who has amassed 1,076 rushing yards and 16 TDs so far this season, is one of the most crucial narratives of the Orange Bowl.

We saw in the Sugar Bowl how Marcus Freeman utilized the run game and Riley Leonard’s RPOs to kill the game in the 4th quarter. That’s where it all starts for the head coach. Run the ball, physically crush the defense, and kill them by having a short-yardage situation on the third downs. Jeremiyah has been struggling with a right knee issue. It started in Notre Dame’s final regular season game against the Trojans. He seems to have aggravated the injury against the Bulldogs, where he rushed for 19 yards on six carries.

Talking about his availability, Marcus Freeman said that Love had a good week of practice. “We have to be smart about how much we’re asking him to do in practice. No one is 100 percent right now. He’ll be good to go,” Freeman said. There we go: Notre Dame will have its star running back tormenting Abdul Carter (if he plays) and Co. However, the number of carries he’d get will still depend on how his knee feels during the game.