It wouldn’t be fair to say Notre Dame’s offense had an impressive showing in the Sugar Bowl. For a variety of reasons, it was one that many might say was consistent with Irish offenses of the past. It did just enough though, so the Irish are heading to the Orange Bowl, one of the semifinals in this year’s College Football Playoff.
While Georgia proved to be forgiving of the Irish’s pedestrian offense, that likely won’t be the case against Penn State, which has perhaps the most stacked defense the Irish will face so far this season. If the Irish’s amazing running corps gets bottled up like it easily could be, that could spell trouble for this game because points will be rare if not impossible. But this season’s Irish have pulled off a lot of shockers, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see one more.
Here’s how the Irish’s offense stacks up against the Nittany Lions’ defense: