Notre Dame x-factor vs. Ohio State, and it's not Riley Leonard

Yesterday at 11:04 PM

Notre Dame football is a heavy underdog heading into next Monday’s National Championship game against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Marcus Freeman’s team is coming off three impressive wins against No. 8 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia, and No. 4 Penn State. Most recently, the Fighting Irish’s victory over the Nittany Lions, after trailing 10-0 early, showcased how resilient this program has become under its head coach.

The Fighting Irish are led by an elite defense that has been among the best in the country for much of the season. Despite losing its captain, cornerback Benjamin Morrison, for the season, Notre Dame’s secondary has shown out in the playoffs against several talented passing offenses. This trend continued in the Orange Bowl, where Penn State’s quarterback Drew Allar struggled, completing around 50% of his passes for just 135 yards and an interception. The signature play of this game came at the last minute when Allar threw a pick that led to the Fighting Irish’s game-winning field goal.

On the other side of the field, quarterback Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offense rallied as the game continued. Marcus Freeman’s team had to show another layer of offense against a physical Penn State defense. The usual ground-and-pound, read-option style that the Fighting Irish usually impose on opponents was not initially working. Fortunately, Leonard has his highest passing total since October 12, throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown.

Still, the Duke graduate transfer will have to play a cleaner game against the Buckeyes, as he also threw last Thursday. While Leonard’s performance will be critical on January 20, he is not the x-factor. The player who gets that label will forever haunt Penn State fans for what he did at the Orange Bowl. This wideout was the difference maker against the Nittany Lions and will need to take on a similar role against the Buckeyes.

Jaden Greathouse is the x-factor for the National Championship game

Jaden Greathouse is a sophomore wideout from Austin, Texas, who was a 4-star recruit from the Class of 2022. For the 2024 season, the 20-year-old only has 36 catches for 464 yards and two touchdowns to this point. Still, Greathouse leads the Fighting Irish in receiving yards, showcasing how this team very much relies on the run. But, more importantly, Jaden is coming off the best game of his career when his team needed him most.

As he went up a talented Penn State secondary, Greathouse broke the game wide open. The sophomore caught seven passes for a career-high 105 yards and a touchdown. That one score came on an electric 54 reception that tied the game at 24-24 with 4:38 left. On that play, Greathouse showcased the kind of explosiveness the Fighting Irish will need to beat the Buckeyes.

Notre Dame needs to be unpredictable against an elite Ohio State defense

Ohio State statistically has the best-scoring defense in the country. The Buckeyes give up just 12.2 points per game and have continued their elite form in the College Football Playoff. After a brutal loss to Michigan, Ryan Day’s team has responded in extraordinary fashion to this adversity. The Buckeyes have posted three straight victories over legit national title contenders while not giving up more than 21 points during this stretch.

Jack Sawyer’s fumble return for a touchdown indicated how this unit is feeling right now. For the season, Ohio State is giving up just 89.9 yards per contest on the ground, which ranks third in the country overall. While Notre Dame has already played elite rushing defenses this playoff in Indiana and Penn State, neither of those Big Ten opponents has the kind of athletes the Buckeyes do.

The Fighting Irish must keep Ohio State on their toes throughout the game to keep Ohio State’s explosive offense off the field. This game might very well come from time to time of possession because of the gap between the two offenses regarding how dynamic they are. The Buckeyes will try to stack the box to force Notre Dame football into obvious throwing situations.

Overall, Marcus Freeman’s team needs a potential game-breaker like Jaden Greathouse to help balance a rush-heavy offense. The Fighting Irish do not have many weapons on the outside to severely worry an elite Ohio State secondary, which is a similar conundrum that Penn State ran into against the Buckeyes earlier this year. However, this is one game on the biggest stage of them all. There’s no telling how each team will react to this moment. Greathouse lived up to the moment in the 2025 Orange Bowl. He’ll have to replicate that performance and possibly even set new career highs for Notre Dame football to win its first national championship since 1988.

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