Following No. 7 seed Notre Dame‘s 27-24 win over No. 6 Penn State in the College Football Playoff semifinal, running back Jeremiyah Love said he wanted a rematch against Ohio Statefor all the marbles.
OSU has defeated the Fighting Irish in the previous two seasons, including a 17-14 win in the final seconds of the 2023 matchup at Notre Dame Stadium.
Love said he felt the Irish should have beat the Buckeyes in 2023 and wants to win the CFP national championship against Ohio State. He considers OSU the “best” competition in the playoffs.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback Riley Leonard downplayed Love’s comments about wanting revenge on OSU, saying the team didn’t need extra motivation to win the championship.
Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Sam Navarro, USA TODAY Sports
Notre Dame freshman running back Aneyas Williams wasn’t on the team in 2023 but added more kindling to the fire this week when he agreed with Love’s sentiment about wanting to beat the “best” team in the country.
“That’s the mindset I have as well. I want to play at my best and be at my best against the best,” said Williams on getting his wish to play Ohio State instead of Texas, via Chen of tending sports.com.ng.
Ohio State is 6-2 all-time against Notre Dame, winning all six meetings since 1995. The Irish’s most recent win in the series was a 7-2 victory on Oct. 31, 1936.
Per ESPN BET, the Irish are 8.5-point underdogs to Ohio State.