Orange Bowl 2024: Factors That Will Decide Notre Dame vs. PSU Semifinal Bracket Game
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Penn State Nittany Lions each reached the College Football Playoff semifinal with a pair of double-digit victories.
Notre Dame's Sugar Bowl win over the Georgia Bulldogs on Thursday was the most impressive victory of the bunch.
Notre Dame controlled the UGA game, just like it has for most of the season, through a strong defense and an efficient offense run by Riley Leonard.
In many ways, Penn State's in-game approach is very similar to Notre Dame's.
Both teams love to run the ball and rely on the passing game in certain spots to open up defenses.
Defensively, each team boasts a strong front seven, which could make the passing game far more important than it usually is for the pair of semifinalists.
Ground Game Success
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Penn State loves to use the running back combination of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen.
The two backs outshined Boise State's Ashton Jeanty in the Fiesta Bowl, as they combined for 221 yards and a touchdown.
Singleton has four straight games with at least 80 rushing yards and Allen owns three consecutive performances of at least 70 rushing yards.
Notre Dame ran for 150 yards in the Sugar Bowl, with Leonard leading the team with 80 yards.
The Fighting Irish also ran for 193 yards in the first-round win over the Indiana Hoosiers. Jeremiyah Love led the team with 108 yards in that contest.
Breaking through the opposing defense could be difficult for both rushing attacks.
Notre Dame held Indiana and Georgia to 125 rushing yards, while Penn State contained Jeanty to 3.5 yards per carry.
Whichever team runs the ball better at the Orange Bowl could easily leave Miami with a spot in the CFB Playoff National Championship.
Riley Leonard's Aerial Success
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Riley Leonard damaged the Georgia defense with his legs in the Sugar Bowl.
The Notre Dame quarterback averaged 5.7 yards per carry in his 80-yard ground performance. He only had 90 passing yards.
Leonard's had at least 30 rushing yards in every Notre Dame victory this season, but he has not been asked to be as effective through the air. He has just five games with 200 or more passing yards.
The Duke transfer may be forced to win the game through the air if Penn State slows down the Irish ground game.
Leonard completed at least 70 percent of his passes in three of the last four games, so while he hasn't racked up the yardage, he's been accurate when needed.
Notre Dame might need Leonard to be accurate and throw for a massive total given PSU's strength in the trenches.
Abdul Carter's Presence in Penn State Pass Rush
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Abdul Carter is Penn State's most impactful game-wrecker on defense.
Carter did not play for most of the Fiesta Bowl due to an injury.
Penn State head coach James Franklin did not have much information on Carter's apparent upper-body injury right after the win over Boise State, per On3's Steve Samra.
"If he's able to go, I know he'll go, so we'll get him checked out and make sure everything's okay. I just saw him walking for breakfast and he looks great. His attitude is great. But I just don't have a ton of information for you right now. We'll get back and get some more information, and then find out quickly. The little extra time helps too, as you know," Franklin said.
More information regarding Carter's status will come as Thursday's kickoff gets closer, but if he plays, Penn State has a potential top-10 pick on the field to wreak havoc against Leonard.
If not, Penn State needs its other pass-rushers to step up, like it did against Boise. Amin Vanover had five tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack and Dani Dennis-Sutton had 2.5 tackles for loss.
Penn State can still have an effective defensive line performance without Carter, but with him, the Nittany Lions could slow down Notre Dame from the start.
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