Greg McElroy underlines Notre Dame’s Biggest flaw before Ohio State clash

Notre Dame enters the National Championship Game as the underdog, while most analysts consider Ohio State the favorite. One reason for analysts' skepticism about the success of Notre Dame, is its running game.

On Friday, analyst Greg McElroy appeared on 'Always College Football' to discuss the game. He talked about how Notre Dame's biggest flaw is its running game. He also brought up how that issue is compounded by the fact that Ohio State has an excellent rush defense.

"So, if we look at Notre Dame on the whole," McElroy said. "In the postseason, if you remove the 98 yard carry by Jeremiah Love, they're averaging about 3.3 yards per carry in the playoffs. That is of concern, especially when taking into account how good this rush defense is for Ohio State. They come into the matchup third in the FBS, allowing under 90 yards per game on the ground."

"They're also second in yards per carry allowed at 2.68 yards per carry," McElroy added. "The number one team in yards per carry in the country is Ole Miss. But remember in college football, a lot of that has to do with sacks. Ole Miss has a million sacks, that's going to make the numbers on the yards per carry basis look a little better."

"On a traditional yards per carry run defense," McElroy said. "I don't think there's a better one than Ohio State. I think they are the best. I think they're the most talented. They're the toughest to run against. Notre Dame will find that out.

Greg McElroy gives one reason Notre Dame could be optimistic about their running game

While McElroy mainly expressed concern for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and their running game in the National Championship Game, he noted one reason to be optimistic. He mentioned that while Ohio State is effective at stopping the rushing game of its opponents, it does not often force them into negative yardage.

As a result, there is less risk for the Fighting Irish in attempting rushing plays. While they may be frequently stopped, the risk of losing yards is not as high. Therefore, the team can continue to try rushing plays, understanding that there is as good chance they may not gain significant yardage.

The National Championship Game is set to kick off on Monday, January 20th at 7:30 p.m. ET.