Notre Dame football players battling flu outbreak on day of Orange Bowl
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — It’s always something. For Notre Dame at the Orange Bowl, that unwanted “something” is fairly serious. A flu outbreak.
According to Blue & Gold sources, a bug has been going around the Fighting Irish locker room. It’s mainly affected backups and special teamers, but Blue & Gold can confirm at least one special teams starter, not to be named, is feeling seriously ill on game day. Another starter from the same side of the ball that player is on in the two main phases came down with the sickness sometime between the Sugar Bowl last week and now, but he’s “on the mend” now.
No. 7 seed Notre Dame (13-1) and No. 6 seed Penn State (13-2) kick the Orange Bowl off at 7:30 p.m. ET at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Sophomore running back Jeremiyah Love had flu-like symptoms for Notre Dame’s first-round playoff win over Indiana on Dec. 20. He scored on a playoff-record 98-yard touchdown rush to get the game started in the opening five minutes. The Fighting Irish beat the Hoosiers, 27-17, in a game they once led by 24.
The Irish arrived in South Florida on Tuesday. Four players and both coordinators, Mike Denbrock from the offensive side and Al Golden from the defense, spoke to the media that evening. Head coach Marcus Freeman participated in a joint press conference Wednesday morning. The media was not allowed to see any practices or walkthroughs in the Miami area. Reporters last saw the Irish on the field for the first half hour of Sunday’s practice session at the Irish Athletics Center in South Bend.
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This is Freeman’s first time partaking in the Orange Bowl as a player or a coach.
“We appreciate the welcome to South Florida for our families and all those that traveled,” he said. “We know the work that’s put in to put on one of these games, and we are very grateful for it.
Notre Dame is a 1.5-point favorite over Penn State per FanDuel. The winner of tonight’s game faces the winner of the Cotton Bowl. No. 5 seed Texas (13-2) and No. 8 seed Ohio State (12-2) in Arlington, Texas, Friday night. That game is also being affected by an out-of-control intangible — North Texas is currently getting blasted by a winter snowstorm. The game, of course, is being played inside at AT&T Stadium, but game-day even logistics for the two teams are being affected and that could spill over into the day of the game.
Weather for the Orange Bowl tonight at outdoor Hard Rock Stadium is forecasted to be in the mid-50s with no precipitation.
