Predictions and 5 things to watch in the Fiesta Bowl
BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State (11-1) vs. Notre Dame (10-2)
Glendale, Arizona
Jan. 1, 2016
No matter what happens in Friday's Fiesta Bowl, Ohio State fans may be a bit disappointed.
If the Buckeyes lose to the Fighting Irish, a team that's played incredibly well despite a run of serious injuries to key players, the season will be seen as a letdown. The defending national champions, a team that may have the most talent in college football, will finish the season with an 11-2 record.
But here's the thing. If Ohio State wins and looks like it did against Michigan in the team's final regular season game, Buckeye fans will be left to wonder "what if?" all offseason.
With Ezekiel Elliott, Braxton Miller, Jalin Marshall and others at the skill positions and either J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones at quarterback, the Buckeyes were expected to have a dominant offense in 2015. That dominance didn't show up until the Michigan game.
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That day, Ohio State ran for 369 yards against one of the nation's best rush defenses. The performance was everything people expected to see from Ohio State all season. And it finally showed up in the last game.
If it shows up again on Friday, well, there's going to be a lot of talk if the Buckeyes were one of the nation's four best teams in 2015. They were No. 1 for a large portion of the season by virtue of being the defending national champs but any official claim to that ranking disappeared with the late-season loss to Michigan State, exactly the type of loss the Buckeyes avoided in 2014.
Missing out on the College Football Playoff was a disappointment for Notre Dame too. Had the Irish not lost to Stanford, Notre Dame could be the team in Miami playing Clemson instead of Oklahoma.
Instead, the Irish are in Glendale, and could finish the season in the top six with a win. After losing QB Malik Zaire, RB Tarean Folston, DT Jarron Jones, CB KeiVarae Russell and others to major injuries throughout the season, that's a huge accomplishment for coach Brian Kelly. Even if Notre Dame fans may also be playing the "what if?" game at the end of the season too.
1. How much does Jones play? It's his last game at Ohio State before he heads to the NFL. Will he split time with J.T. Barrett? Or will he only see time if Barrett struggles?
Jones is going to be one of the most fascinating prospects in the 2016 NFL draft. Hindsight being 20/20, his draft stock was higher with the limited sample size of 2014. He didn't excel in 2015 but he still has the measurables for a team to spend an early-round pick on him if it so chooses.
2. A healthy C.J. Prosise. The running back suffered a high ankle sprain vs. Boston College and missed the Stanford game. He expects to play Friday and will be a big help to the Irish rushing attack. If he's completely healthy.
Prosise has run for 1,029 yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games this season. Not bad for a guy who switched from wide receiver to running back full time this season.
3. Will Fuller vs. the Ohio State secondary. Fuller has been a beast at times in 2015. But he's also had some key drops.
Fuller, who has 56 catches for 1,145 yards and 13 touchdowns, has been Deshone Kizer's go-to receiver in big spots. Kizer will look to Fuller a lot on Friday. Can he find space to operate? While he had six catches for 136 yards against Stanford, he had just two grabs against Clemson.
4. Ohio State's commitment to the run. We teased it in the intro but it's worth mentioning again. If Notre Dame stifles the Buckeyes early, will Ohio State get away from the power run game?
The game against Michigan was Elliott's first 30-carry game of the season. If he has his second against Notre Dame, things are going very, very well for the Buckeyes.
5. Braxton Miller's finale. A guy who set multiple records as Ohio State's quarterback is playing his final game in an OSU uniform at wide receiver.
How productive will he be? After serving as a big play threat in the middle portion of the season, Miller has four catches for four yards and five rushes for 16 yards in the past three games. He had a huge game at the end of the 2013 season in the Orange Bowl against Clemson. Can he rediscover the magic?
PICKS
Graham: Ohio State players announced before the contest that this would be their last game. Not sure the point of that and not sure it creates a lot of team camaraderie. Notre Dame is the better “team” here with an emphasis on “team.” Notre Dame 34, Ohio State 17.
Nick: I'm banking on the Michigan version of Ohio State showing up. With many key Buckeyes off to the NFL, I don't think motivation will be hard to find for this one. Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 30.
Sam: The Buckeyes fell short of the CFP, but Urban Meyer always finds a way to get his players ready. Many are headed to the NFL after this one, too. They’ll play hard. Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 27.
For more Notre Dame news, visit BlueandGold.com.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeIllustrated.com.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
