Just when Notre Dame fans thought they could sit back and enjoy the excitement of the Orange Bowl, some unfortunate news hit—several players in the Fighting Irish locker room are battling the flu. And yes, it’s as stressful as it sounds when you’re hours away from a huge matchup against Penn State.
The report came in Thursday morning, with On3’s Tyler Horka sharing that the flu is going around the Notre Dame locker room. The report indicates thatmost of the key starters are fine, and the bug is mainly impacting backup and special teams players. But even so, you never want to hear “flu outbreak” on game day—especially when it’s the Orange Bowl and the College Football Playoff semifinals.
The winner of this semifinal showdown punches their ticket to the national championship game, where they'll face the winner of Texas and Ohio State.
Penn State is coming in hot, though, with wins over SMU and Boise State. Their defense has been lights-out all season, and their offense is no slouch either. The Fighting Irish are riding an 11-game winning streak, and running back Jeremiyah Love has been a major reason why. Despite questions about his health, he’s expected to play tonight and his presence could be the difference between Notre Dame finding a way to win or the season ending tonight.
The big question now is whether this flu outbreak will throw a wrench in Notre Dame’s game plan. Coach Marcus Freeman has already proven he can handle adversity, but this kind of last-minute twist is never easy. Fans are hoping the backups can push through because every snap is going to count.
Notre Dame and Penn State will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. E.T. tonight. The game will be televised on ESPN and Sean McDonough (play-by-play) and Greg McElroy (analyst) will have the call.