3 Storylines to watch for when Indiana football faces Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff

Indiana football heads into the biggest game in program history on Friday when they face Notre Dame in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

It’ll be the 30th matchup between the two Indiana schools and the first since 1991. The Hoosiers have not beaten the Fighting Irish since 1950.

Curt Cignetti will once again look to make history and beat Notre Dame for the first time in 74 yards and continue his extraordinary debut season with Indiana football.

ESPN’s College GameDay will also be in South Bend for the game. It will be the third time the pregame show has attended an Indiana football game this year.

With the world watching, Cignetti and the Hoosiers will have the chance to silence the critics in an in-state battle.

Here are some key storylines to watch for when Indiana football faces Notre Dame on Friday.

How does the Indiana run defense matchup against Notre Dame’s explosive rushing attack?

The Indiana football run defense will be tested in a major way on Friday against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish are averaging 224.8 rushing yards per game which is 10th in the country.

On the other side, the Hoosiers have allowed just 70.8 rushing yards per game which leads the nation.

It’ll be strength vs strength as Indiana looks to slow down Jeremiyah Love and Riley Leonard.

The duo has combined to score 29 of Notre Dame’s 40 rushing touchdowns and combined for 1670 rushing yards.

The Fighting Irish have scored multiple touchdowns in every game this season and have rushed for over 200 rushing yards in each of the last five games.

Led by Mikail Kamara and Aiden Fisher, the Hoosier defense has yet to allow an opponent to rush for 150 yards.

Something will have to break on Friday and winning in the trenches will likely go a long way in deciding who wins on Friday.

Can Kurtis Rourke find success against Notre Dame’s pass defense?

Kurtis Rourke has been incredible in his only season with the Hoosiers. He’s pushed the ball downfield while also protecting the football and avoiding turnovers. His play has been a driving force for the success of the Indiana offense.

In Rourke’s biggest test of the season, on the road against Ohio State, he struggled. The Buckeyes’ pass defense is second in passing yards allowed and they gave Rourke fits as he completed just 8-18 attempts.

Rourke will have a similar test on Friday against a Notre Dame defense which is the third-ranked pass defense in yards allowed.

On the season the Fighting Irish have allowed just nine touchdown passes to 17 interceptions while holding passers to just a 48.7 completion percentage.

In their final game of the season, USC became the only team to pass for 300 yards against Notre Dame, but they also threw two interceptions.

While the turnovers are an issue, the Trojans showed that you can find success in the air against the Fighting Irish.

Indiana football will need Rourke to have a better showing than he did against Ohio State if they are going to find success against the Notre Dame defense.

Will Indiana football be able to protect the football?

Indiana football will need to protect the football on Friday and it won’t be an easy task. Notre Dame leads the country with 28 turnovers forced in 12 games.

The Hoosiers rank tied for 12th with 23 turnovers forced and the turnover battle will play a huge role on Friday.

Notre Dame forced at least one turnover in all 11 of their wins. In their only loss against Northern Illinois, they were unable to force a turnover.

The Hoosiers are tied for second in the country in turnovers allowed but have struggled at times including a four-turnover game against Maryland.

The Notre Dame defense will be aggressive as they look to get takeaways so Indiana has to be disciplined.

Self-inflicted wounds including a botched punt killed the Hoosiers’ chances against the Buckeyes in their only loss.

Protecting the football and not helping the Notre Dame offense will go a long way in deciding Friday’s contest.

SEE ALSO: ‘What a great storyline’: All eyes on the state of Indiana this week as IU football, Notre Dame usher in the new College Football Playoff era

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