ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis and insider Pete Thamel made their predictions for Monday’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game between Ohio State and Notre Dame.
When it came to the picks, neither of the two hosts too optimistic about the Fighting Irish pulling off the upset over the favored Buckeyes. Ohio State enters the weekend as an 8.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook‘s latest odds.
During this week’s College GameDay Podcast, Thamel began his national championship game prediction by suggesting the Fighting Irish will “struggle to move the ball” vs. a stacked Ohio State defense.
“(Notre Dame’s) skill has played well in the Playoff and has gotten better as the year has gone on. They’re very good at tight end. I just really struggle seeing where they’re going to find yards,” Thamel said. “I think (Irish offensive coordinator) Mike Denbrock has called an unbelievable Playoff by the way, I want to give him a lot of credit for that. I think the sum has been greater than the parts in that Notre Dame offense, and that’s the ultimate compliment to a coordinator. Their halftime adjustments coming out against Penn State in figuring out ways to run the ball really changed that entire game. … They said, ‘Hey, we need to change how we’re doing things’ and they did some different things in the run scheme, it got them going, it got them momentum.”
Thamel then flipped the script to predict another two-score victory for the Buckeyes.
“I think that this is like a 30-13 type game and Ohio State wins,” Thamel concluded.
Rece Davis predicts Ohio State victory, but gives Notre Dame a slight chance
Davis couldn’t really argue with Thamel’s assessment but did offer another potential narrative that is more favorable to Notre Dame.
“I think it goes one of two ways, it either goes 30-13, or (Irish defensive coordiantor) Al Golden comes up with enough third-down stops, he fouls Will Howard enough into giving them the ball a couple of times, and Notre Dame runs it enough to keep it close and then it comes down to a kick. One way or the other, (it’s) a low-scoring game and somebody gets into the low 20s and wins the game,” Davis said.
“But I think it’s going to be Ohio State. I just think, as much respect and admiration as I have for what Notre Dame has done and what they are as a team, there are just so many weapons on the other side. And I don’t know if Notre Dame has the outside receivers to really test the corners, who are good players but at times have been taken advantage of at different times this season. The (Ohio State) safeties are phenomenal, the linebackers are phenomenal, and I think (Jack) Sawyer having the big signature moment (in the Cotton Bowl), (JT) Tuimoloau has gotten a little nicked here and there but he’s had a great Playoff run. Their interior guys have been sensational, most notably Tyliek Williams and Ty Hamilton have been sensational.”
It’s at this point that the College GameDay host provided two potential outcomes Monday night.
“I just think it’s too much. I think it will probably go along the lines that you say, and I’m going to call for Ohio State to win the National Championship — I’m going to say 31-16,” Davis concluded. “The caveat I will offer is that if it’s close in the fourth quarter, meaning if it’s a one-possession game in the fourth quarter, I think Notre Dame will win.”
There you have it, at least part of ESPN’s College GameDay crew is leaning toward the Buckeyes winning their program’s first CFP national title since 2014, the Playoffs inaugural season. Monday’s national championship game kicks off at 7:30 pm ET from Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium on ESPN.
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