Jeremiyah Love injury: Pete Thamel reveals how Notre Dame will adjust game plan for Orange Bowl

While the sense is Jeremiyah Love will be available for Notre Dame during Thursday’s Orange Bowl against Penn State, he won’t be 100% healthy. That could have a major impact on the Fighting Irish game plan, and ESPN’s Pete Thamel shared how they might adjust things.

Love re-injured his knee in last week’s Sugar Bowl victory over Georgia – the same issue that hindered him since the regular-season finale against USC. He practiced this week and Marcus Freeman said the plan is for him to at least try to go in Thursday night’s College Football Playoff semifinal.

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Thamel said Jadarian Price will likely take the lead in the backfield, but Riley Leonard is sure to be more active in the running game. He played a crucial role in last week’s victory, and that could continue Thursday night in Miami.

“Jeremiyah Love’s going to warm up. He’s going to try to give it a go,” Thamel said on College Football Live Thursday afternoon. “I don’t see him significantly impacting this game if he’s not 100% because he won’t be that smoke through the keyhole, he won’t be that dynamic player. The impact on the game is simple. We’re going to see more Riley Leonard called runs. They called nine quarterback designed runs against Georgia – he had four other scrambles. Riley Leonard accounted for 37% of the overall Notre Dame rushing yards in that game. For a quarterback to run for 37% of the yards, that’s like military academy stuff.

“We’re going to see Jadarian Price. I would not be surprised if he ends up starting. It could be a ceremonial start for Love. But look for Riley Leonard to carry the load tonight on those designed QB runs. Again, Jeremiyah Love is one of the three most important players for Notre Dame. He will not be 100%. We’ll see how much he can give them and impact the game tonight.”

Love is an important part of the Notre Dame offense, which leans heavily on the running game. He entered Thursday’s game with a team-high 1,076 yards and 16 touchdowns. He also makes an impact with his ability to accelerate quickly, and that was on full display in the first round of the College Football Playoff when he took a hand-off 98 yards for a touchdown against Indiana.

Thamel heard a perfect way to describe Love’s impact, though. But if he’s not 100% – which he won’t be Thursday night – he’s not going to be as effective with his playmaking abilities.

“I had one coach describe Jeremiyah Love to me this week as, ‘He’s so fast, he’s like smoke through a keyhole,’ when he’s healthy,” Thamel said. “One thing we’re certain about tonight is that Jeremiyah Love will not be 100% when he plays for Notre Dame. He will not have that elite burst that we saw in the Indiana game when he bursted out for that 98-yard touchdown.”