In the newly created College Football 12-team playoff, two uncommon foes face off in the first round in South Bend, Indiana. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off against the Indiana Hoosiers on December 20th; a very rare rivalry game. 

If you don’t know, the Fighting Irish and the Hoosiers have a heated rivalry to declare the victor of the state of Indiana. The Irish lead the series 23-5-1 with the last time these two programs have played each other was over 30 years ago in 1991(which Notre Dame won 49-27). This game will be the most important game in the history of the rivalry. The Fighting Irish have the upper hand with being -8.5 point favorites and having a 70% chance of winning. 

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are coming into this game after a 11-1 season with their only loss being a horrendous home loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies in week two. They then went on a 10-0 run capping it off with a fabulous road victory against cross country rival the USC Trojans. It all starts in the backfield with the  6 '4 senior transfer from Duke, Riley Leonard. Leonard has put up 2,092 passing yards accompanied with 16 passing touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. On the ground he put up 721 rushing yards and 14 rushing touchdowns. Beaux Collins, Kris Mitchell, Jaden Greathouse, and Jayden Harrison have been strong in the receiving game for the Irish, and running back Jadarian Price has put up solid stats on the ground. The defense has been stellar with defensive linemen Rylie Mills, Junior Tuihalamaka, and Donovan Hinish getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Linebackers Jaiden Ausberry, Drayk Bowen, Jack Kiser, and Jaylen Sneed are punishing opponents running game. Defensive backs Rod Heard II, Jordan Clark, and Benjamin Morrison have caused trouble in the passing game as well. 

The Indiana Hoosiers are also coming off an 11-1 season with their only loss coming to the Ohio State Buckeyes in Columbus in week 11, 38-15. They have had a wildly surprising season because of newly hired head coach Curt Cignetti and his passion and attitude that he brought to this otherwise dead program. Kurtis Rourke leads this high-powered Hoosier offense with 2,827 passing yards and 27 passing touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. Justice Ellison and Ty Son Lawton are the one-two punch for Indiana’s rushing attack, each of them putting up over 600 yards and 10 touchdowns. Elijah Sarratt, Ke’Shawn Williams, Omar Cooper Jr, and Miles Cross shine in the receiving game with each of them having over 300 yards. Defensive Lineman Mikail Kamara, Lanell Carr Jr, and CJ West have been disrupting opposing offenses all year combined with a stellar linebacker group with Aiden Fisher, Jailin Walker, and Isaiah Jones that have been causing mayhem as they are one of the best defenses in college football. Don’t forget defensive backs Shawn Asbury II, D’Angelo Ponds, and Amare Ferrell being solid in the passing game.

This game will come down to the wire in South Bend but I have Marcus Freeman and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish coming out on top 28-21 and securing their spot in a quarterfinal matchup against the Bulldogs of Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. This came down to each of the team's weaknesses, Notre Dame’s being their offensive line and special teams, and Indiana being their pass coverage. The Irish have shown that they got better in those categories throughout the season and the Hoosiers didn't improve much in their category, which was one of the factors that contributed to my decision. Notre Dame does have the upper hand of strength of schedule with Indiana having a significantly weaker schedule playing only one ranked team(Ohio State) and losing. Notre Dame however have played and won two games against AP top 25 teams. Again, it is going to be a very competitive and exciting game but I do have the Fighting Irish winning at home 28-21 over in-state rival Indiana.