Paul Finebaum reveals College Football Playoff x-factors for Notre Dame, Penn State in Orange Bowl

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions are getting ready for the Orange Bowl on Thursday night, which will double as a College Football Playoff semifinal. It’s also a game where each team is going to rely on its star players.

With that in mind, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum appeared on Get Up. There, he shared the player from each team that he expects to be the x-factor for each side. That starts with quarterback Riley Leonard for Notre Dame.

“It is Riley Leonard the quarterback,” Paul Finebaum said. “He has been very good all year. That’s why Notre Dame is playing in such a late game but he needs to be better. He was serviceable against Georgia. He needs to be great against Penn State and I think, quite frankly, he will be.”

Riley Leonard came to Notre Dame in the Transfer Portal after previously being the starting quarterback at Duke. In his one season at Notre Dame, Leonard led the Irish to an 11-1 regular season record. He completed 66.5 percent of his passes for 2,383 yards and 18 touchdowns to six interceptions. He’s also rushed for 831 yards and another 15 touchdowns.

For the season, Notre Dame is fourth in the country in scoring offense, averaging 37.7 points per game. However, there has been criticism of the Notre Dame offense at times this year for its inability to stretch the ball down the field. That’s reflected in the 108th-ranked passing offense in the country, averaging 189.1 passing yards per game.

As for Penn State, Paul Finebaum believes that the x-factor is a player who may or may not be healthy enough to play in the game — Abdul Carter. The star edge rusher is expected to be a first round NFL Draft pick but he suffered an apparent arm injury in the Fiesta Bowl, putting his status in doubt.

“It’s Abdul Carter and he is such an outstanding player but he has been injured,” Finebaum said. “He suffered an arm injury against Boise State and they need him desperately in this game. James Franklin did not really address the issue. He will be the key tomorrow night.”

Abdul Carter has 63 total tackles, including 22 tackles for a loss and 11 sacks this season. He also, importantly, takes up a lot of attention, opening up more one-on-one opportunities for other Penn State defensive linemen.

Notre Dame and Penn State will play in the Orange Bowl at 7:30 p.m. EST on January 9th. The winner will advance to play for a national championship.