The very first College Football Playoff game of the 12 team era kicks off on Friday night, and it’s Crossroads of America classic; the Indiana state championship. Yes, the #10 Indiana Hoosiers will motor up to the opposite end of the state to visit the #7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
If you’re a Midwesterner and/or Big Ten person, and you don’t support one of the other three conference teams in the playoff, then this is the game for you. Indeed, IU at ND is the matchup that you’ve been waiting for!
Spread: Indiana Hoosiers +7, or -105, but they are also available on the money line for +230. The O/U, or total on this game is 51.5. If you want to bet on ND, then the spread is -7, or -115. The money on the Irish is -280.
Indiana Hoosiers (11-1) Preview
Overflowing with offensive play-makers and big play threats, the Crimson and Cream IU have scored double figures in every game this season. They have gone for 31+ in every game but two, and 20+ in every game but 1. They hung 40+ on their opponents in 8 out of their 12 games this season.
Just 10 games into his IU tenure, the school handed first year coach Curt Cignetti as massive eight-year, $8 million per season extension. And it also included another $1M in retention bonus.
As we write this, it seems to be a smart investment, as he took a program with absolutely no football tradition at all, and led them to the CFP in his debut year. And just a few hours ago, he was named AP Coach of the Year.
One of Cignetti’s top players is wide receiver Elijah Sarratt, who nicknamed himself “Waffle House” in Sept. Why?
“Y’all can say Waffle House, because I’m open 24/7,” he then said.
Quarterback Kurtis Rourke, who transferred in from Ohio, pilots this very high octane machine, as he’s racked up 2,827 passing yards and 27 TD passes on 70% completion this season.
“His brother (Nathan Rourke) is a quarterback in the (Canadian Football) league,” Sarratt said of the IU QB1.
“From a football family and he really just puts his time in every single day. He has a great coach behind him telling him what to do. Loves the game. Tells me what I’m doing right. Tells me what I’m doing wrong. He’s a good leader out there, and I wouldn’t want anyone else being my quarterback.”
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1) Preview
For everybody who thought the transition from Brian Kelly to Marcus Freeman would send the LSU and Notre Dame programs in opposite directions can now sit down and shut up. It’s not just that Freeman is a much better human being; he’s also a far superior leader of a college football program.
Yes, ND and LSU are now indeed going in opposite directions, but it’s the inverse of what the detractors had previously claimed.
While IU gets it done through the air, ND is more ground and pound. And their ground attack is a three-headed monster, led by superstar Jeremiyah Love.
And Jadarian Price has arguably even more impressive statistics. Meanwhile QB Riley Leonard is an electric runner, but pretty meh as a passer. The Irish passing game is blah.
So this is a classic clash of run-first versus pass-oriented.
Snow Patrol
The forecast indicates an air temperature of around 29 at kickoff, with a chance of snow showers. Rourke said that prior to the Indiana Hoosiers season finale versus Purdue, he had never actually played in snow before.
“If I feel comfortable enough in what I’m wearing, there shouldn’t be any issue in everything moving forward,” Rourke said earlier today.
“I thought Purdue was a really awesome environment, having the snow fall down in the stadium. That was pretty cool. Snow games are pretty fun itself.
“Looking forward to it if that’s the case.”
Prediction: Indiana Hoosiers 42, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 38
ESPN Analytics gives Cignetti and his boys just a 29.5% chance of winning, but I’m not buying it. as I’ve just seen ND blow it in the biggest games, time and time again.
Plus that whole “you can’t really throw the ball all that well in snow” cliche is total bunk, and always has been.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.