Indiana failed its first test at knocking off a powerhouse when the then-undefeated Hoosiers lost 38-15 at Ohio State on Nov. 23.
Coach Curt Cignetti believes the No. 10 seed Hoosiers (11-1) will be better prepared when they play at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1) on Friday in South Bend, Ind., in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
“I don’t think anyone was happy with the way we came out of Ohio State,” he said. “But I think our guys have learned from that too and we’ll be better in a hostile environment than we were that particular day.”
–Notre Dame’s 10th-ranked rushing attack (224.8 yards per game) will challenge Indiana’s No. 1 rushing defense (70.8 yards).
“It’s always our plan to find a way to run the football,” Fighting Irish offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said. “Everything we do kind of builds around that and comes from that to begin with. We’re going to have to have some success on the ground.”
Jeremiyah Love led Notre Dame with 949 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns. Quarterback Riley Leonard is not far behind at 721 yards and 14 TDs on the ground.
–If the matchup between No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State on Saturday night comes down to a field goal, Buckeyes (10-2) coach Ryan Day said a decision has not been made between Jayden Fielding, who missed attempts from 38 and 34 yards in a 13-10 loss to Michigan in their last game, and Austin Snyder. He has not attempted a field goal for Ohio State.
“We will make a decision about who gives us the best chance to win and go from there,” Day said.
–Tennessee (10-2) believes it has the maturity and leadership to handle adversity on Saturday.
“There’s going to be ebbs and flows in the ball game, and you’ve got to continue to play and compete,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said. “I think as much as anything, that’s a real credit to the guys that we have in the locker room.”
–Both No. 6 Penn State (11-2) and No. 11 SMU (11-2) had their backup quarterbacks enter the transfer portal. The difference is the Nittany Lions’ Beau Pribula is no longer with the team while Preston Stone will be available for the visiting Mustangs when they play Saturday.
“It’s huge,” SMU coach Rhett Lashlee said. “You keep some continuity. Preston’s played a lot of football, won a lot of games.”
Penn State coach James Franklin said Wednesday that freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, who has not taken a snap in a game, will back up Drew Allar.
“(Grunkemeyer) has done a really good job and put himself in a position that we have a lot of confidence,” Franklin said.
–Quarterback Quinn Ewers of No. 5 Texas (11-2) practiced this week without a custom ankle brace in preparation for the home game against No. 12 Clemson (10-3) on Saturday. He wore a brace the past two games.
“I think he’s continually getting better,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
–Clemson coach Dabo Sweeney has the Tigers in the postseason for the seventh time in the past 11 seasons and said he doesn’t care about criticism of him.
“I mean, I’ve been taking shots for 16 years,” he said. “We just keep winning, you know?”
