Analyst provides reason for Notre Dame's struggles against Ohio State

Ryan Day's Ohio State Buckeyes are standing tall over the college football world after their national championship win over Notre Dame on Monday. After months of speculation about his job security, Day has shut those rumors down with an emphatic run in the College Football Playoff, capping it with a 34-23 win against the Fighting Irish.

While fans celebrate the Buckeyes, many are quick not to disregard what Marcus Freeman's Fighting Irish have accomplished this season, not to mention the road they had to take to get there.

In the CFP final, Notre Dame scored early on a Riley Leonard touchdown in the first quarter, but then the Buckeyes unleashed an onslaught, scoring 31 straight points. The Irish tried to make it interesting late, scoring two more touchdowns, but they were just in too big of a hole, and a comeback came too little, too late.

One pundit offered a reason why the Fighting Irish struggled against the Buckeyes. On Tuesday, Ralph D. Russo, a writer for The Athletic, pointed out that the injuries to the Fighting Irish’s key personnel earlier this season were a big contributor to their woes in the national championship game.

"I do think all the injuries finally caught up to ND," Russo wrote on X. "Fact is (running back Jeremiyah) Love hasn’t been really full go throughout the playoff. And the first drive, as Freeman said, was just not something that was going to be repeatable 6 more times. Both in playing calling and execution."

Love sustained a knee injury in the regular-season game against USC on Nov. 30 and carried the knock into the playoff. He reinjured it in the Sugar Bowl win over Georgia and had to wear a brace. Before Notre Dame's semifinal game against Penn State, the running back told ESPN he was 75 or 80% ready.

Jagusah, Craig and Morrison headline the laundry list of injuries for Notre Dame throughout the season

The Fighting Irish had to navigate several injuries throughout the 2024 season, and it finally caught up with them in the championship game. Both the offense and defense had their own key players miss time or, worse, go through season-ending setbacks.

Trouble started at practice camp when starting left tackle Charles Jagusah tore his pectoral muscle. He missed the entire regular season and the first two rounds of the College Football Playoff but came back for their semifinal against Penn State.

The next man down was starting center Ashton Craig, who tore his ACL in their Week 3 game against Purdue. Rocco Spindler, the starting right guard, fell in their playoff game against Indiana.

Notre Dame's biggest loss on defense was All-American cornerback Benjamin Morrison, who went down with a hip injury that required season-ending surgery in their Week 7 game against Stanford. Other notable defensive players lost were starting defensive end Jordan Botelho, his backup Boubacar Traore and defensive linemen Howard Cross III and Rylie Mills.

Factor in all those injuries, and it’s a wonder how Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman, along with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock and defensive coordinator Al Golden, got to the championship game, let alone nearly made the score respectable with a patchwork on the offensive and defensive lines.