Kirk Herbstreit breaks down path to victory for Notre Dame against Ohio State

Ohio State has looked unbeatable at times during the College Football Playoff and is a sizeable favorite over Notre Dame entering the national title game.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit acknowledges that the Buckeyes have the better overall roster, but he still feels like Notre Dame has a path to victory to win the game.

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“If you look at it on paper, that’s why Vegas has whatever it is, Ohio State an 8 or 9 point favorite,” Kirk Herbstreit said on Todd McShay’s podcast. “If you go position-by-position, which is a dangerous thing to me in football, it’s very easy to say, ‘Ohio State’s better here, they’re better here, they’re better here.’”

But Notre Dame is a true team, according to Herbstreit, which makes the Fighting Irish dangerous, even if they don’t have as much talent as Ohio State or some of the other teams they have faced.

“Notre Dame is like that typical team they make a movie out of, like, ‘How’d they win the national championship?’ kind of thing,” Herbstreit said. “They have good players, but they’re a better team. They’re a great team.

“You look at them pregame and you watch them, and there are a few guys that kind of stand out. Then you look at the other end who they’re playing and you’re like, ‘Whoa, look at that guy.’ You look at Notre Dame and you’re like, ‘We’ll see.’ And then they play as 11 on special teams and defense, mainly. Offense is doing what they need to do.”

Kirk Herbstreit understands that Ohio State is almost unbeatable when clicking on all cylinders, but he still gives Notre Dame a fighting chance.

The Fighting Irish will need some breaks, but he believes they are capable of pulling off the upset.

“That’s what makes this game so exciting for me getting ready to call it is you have this team that’s just like a freight train, with all this NFL talent and experience in Ohio State. And you’ve got Marcus Freeman, a former Buckeye, who was a great player, who within a few years has taken Notre Dame all the way to the national championship. Everybody looks at them as like, ‘There’s no way you can really win this game.’ It’s almost like, ‘Please keep telling us that. Please keep telling us we have no chance to win this game. … Let’s kick it off and let’s see what happens,’” Herbstreit said.

“That’s kind of the vibe I feel like coming out of the Notre Dame camp. And I just feel like in college football you just never know. … Now, Notre Dame will have to win the turnover margin. They’ll have to win the field position battle with special teams, whether they get a blocked punt or make a big play in that area. And they’re going to have to find a way to get to that fourth quarter and look up and it’s 20-17 or it’s 17-14, whatever it is. And it’s like, ‘Alright, we’ve got them where we want them, let’s go find a way to win this game.’”