Johnny Manziel predicts Ohio State over Notre Dame in College Football Playoff National Championship

Former Heisman winner Johnny Manziel is going with Ohio State over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship.

The Buckeyes are the favorite in Atlanta, but there are multiple keys to the game for both sides. Manziel broke it all down but in the end, opted with Ohio State over Notre Dame.

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How does it happen? Ohio State’s scoring capabilities will out pace Notre Dame.

“I think Ohio State can score 35. So let’s go 35-21 to Ohio State, and crown our national champion,” Manziel said, via Action Network.

How can Ohio State be limited by Notre Dame? The latter’s running game led by Riley Leonard and Jeremiyah Love.

“I think they’re just gonna have to be able to run the ball,” Manziel said. “Riley Leonard’s gonna have to try his best to be able to hit some play action shots.  But a lot of this game comes down to the defense for Notre Dame. There’s a lot of pressure on them to stop this Ohio State offense that’s been running it well for the most part throughout this college football playoff. 

“They’re gonna have to find a way even if the offense is struggling a little bit. It’s stalling out to be able to keep Notre Dame in this game with some big stops and some turnovers for them. You can’t see Jeremiah Smith running down the field if you’re a Notre Dame fan or it’s gonna be a long day.”

Ohio State managed to beat Texas in the CFP semifinals without an impact game from freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. But with what Ohio State sees in Notre Dame’s defense, that might be the opposite case according to Manziel.

“I think with all this man coverage, you hear Jeremiah just say, anytime these DBs are giving me a chance to go…man, oh, man,” Manziel said. I want the ball, and I’m gonna be open too. So I think anytime they see man coverage in this, he’s gonna be one person that’s absolutely salivating.

“It’s something he lives for. But this Notre Dame group is really, really talented. They’ve been doing this all year at a very high level, so it should be a really good matchup at those skill positions.”