Indiana’s efficient, potent passing attack against Notre Dame’s staunch secondary. The Fighting Irish’s dynamic rushing offense battling the Hoosiers’ stringent defensive front. Friday’s in-state battle has all of the ingredients necessary to be the best game of the CFP first round.
Indiana is led by sixth-year quarterback Kurtis Rourke, one of college football’s most underrated players. Per Game On Paper, Rourke leads FBS quarterbacks in expected points added per dropback.
The 2022 MAC Player of the Year at Ohio led the Big Ten in yards per attempt (9.9 yards) during the regular season.
In 11 games, Rourke was 202-of-287 (70.4%) for 2,827 yards, 27 touchdowns and four interceptions.
He’ll be challenged by one of the nation’s best pass defenses. Notre Dame ranks third in FBS against the pass, allowing 157.9 yards per game. The defense allows an FBS-low completion percentage (48.7%) on pass attempts and is led by outside corners Leonard Moore and Christian Gray.
Both have been excellent after the Irish lost starting corner Benjamin Morrison (hip), a potential first-round 2025 NFL Draft pick, to injury.
Their perimeter matchups against Indiana wideouts Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper will be crucial in deciding the game. Moore and Gray have combined to allow 43 receptions on 83 targets (51.8%) with four interceptions, per Pro Football Focus data.
Sarratt can hold his own on one-on-one matchups, leading all CFP receivers with 14 contested catches. (h/t PFF) Cooper is arguably the best deep threat in the playoff field, averaging 21.1 yards per reception and an average target depth of 15.7 yards.
Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard is just as important to Notre Dame’s offense, albeit in different ways.
He’s the most productive rushing quarterback among the 12 CFP contenders. According to PFF data, excluding sacks, Leonard has 764 rushing yards this season.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock, who coached 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels last season at LSU, has used similar rushing concepts to get the most out of Leonard, with 60.5% of his rushing yards coming on designed runs.
