With the National Championship game just two days away, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be without an offensive lineman as they face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Left tackle Anthonie Knapp will miss the game due to ankle surgery, according to Mike Berardino of the South Bend Tribune. Knapp will undergo tightrope surgery on his sprained left ankle, with an expected recovery time of six weeks, meaning he should be ready for spring ball.
The 6-foot-4, 294-pound freshman from Roswell, Georgia, has started at left tackle for Notre Dame in all 15 games this season. Knapp was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, ranked No. 271 nationally and No. 19 among interior offensive linemen in the class of 2024, according to On3’s Industry Ratings. He helped the Fighting Irish’s offensive line have a strong season, which earned them a spot as a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, given to the best offensive line in college football.
Notre Dame will now face Ohio State on Monday at 6:30 p.m. CT, with ESPN broadcasting the game.
Although the Fighting Irish will be without Knapp, they remain determined to challenge Ohio State for the title. However, Notre Dame’s road to victory may be more difficult. One key to success, according to CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson, is improving on early downs. Notre Dame ranks 128th out of 134 FBS teams in third-and-long conversion rate, successfully converting only 16% of the time. Avoiding third-and-long situations by succeeding on early downs will be crucial to their chances of victory.
As the underdog, Notre Dame will need everything to fall into place in order to end its National Championship drought.
