Notre Dame flu update: Marcus Freeman reveals how Irish will be impacted for National Championship

In the days leading up to Notre Dame‘s showdown against Penn State in the Orange Bowl, Blue & Gold reported the Fighting Irish were fighting an outbreak of the flu in their locker room. Although the bug mainly affected backups and special teams members, there was serious concern that it could spread to more key members of the team.

Ultimately, Notre Dame was able to fight through the illness and secure a 27-24 win over the Nittany Lions. Nonetheless, with 11 days in between the showdown and the national championship, fans are concerned the outbreak could continue to make its way through Notre Dame’s roster.

On Sunday, Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman provided an update on the outbreak and his team’s health, in general.

“As far as the flu, I mean, I’m sure every school — Ohio State’s probably dealing with it too,” Freeman said. “It’s a virus that has really — I think, probably over half of our team has gotten it already, so I don’t think it will have an impact on this week’s game.”

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Notre Dame will need every player on their A-game to defeat Ohio State. The Buckeyes opened as 9.5-point favorites over the Fighting Irish. Of course, the Fighting Irish don’t mind being the underdog.

In their 27-24 win over Penn State, Freeman and Co. silenced their doubters, piecing together a dual-edged offensive attack. ND quarterback Riley Leonard completed 15-of-his-23 pass attempts for 223 yards and a touchdown in the victory.

Alas, Leonard wasn’t perfect, throwing two interceptions. Where Leonard came up short in the passing game, the Fighting Irish’s backfield stepped up. Notre Dame finished the game with 116 yards and two scores in the ground game.

If worse comes to worst, and illness sidelines a Fighting Irish player for the big game, Marcus Freeman has confidence in his backups.

“You think about now, you’re into game … 15 or 16, and you’re going to have to have depth,” Freeman said on ESPN College GameDay Friday. “You’re going to have to have guys that might not have been starting at the start of the year, but you’re going to count on them to make big plays and meaningful games.

“You don’t know when your number’s going to be called. But you have to earn your trust from the coaches and players in practice. And when it is called in the game, you’ve got to go out there and produce. But you earn that trust in practice every single day.”

Notre Dame and Ohio State will square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on Jan. 20 in the College Football Playoff National Championship. The game will air live on ESPN.