DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love is on track to play against Penn State in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl, offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said Tuesday.
During a media availability shortly after arriving in South Florida, Denbrock said Love has been able to practice this week but has not been overloaded with work. Love tweaked a knee injury in the third quarter of a 23-10 win over Georgia in the quarterfinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl last week and did not return to the game.
He initially injured his right knee in the regular-season finale against USC.
“Obviously, we want to get him to the game, so we weren’t running his wheels off the last couple of days, but every day he gets a little bit better, moves a little bit better,” Denbrock said. “I know he feels like he’s going to be ready to go and ready to get after it.”
Love leads the Irish with 1,076 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns this season. He showed off his dynamic style in the team’s CFP first-round win over Indiana, scoring on a 98-yard run despite fighting the flu in that game. The injury against Georgia limited him to six carries for 19 yards as quarterback Riley Leonard led the team in rushing with 80 yards on 14 carries.
“J-Love is always going to be fine,” Leonard said. “I mean he had the flu the day before the Indiana game, and he popped out there and broke one for 98 yards. So, he’s always going to be 100 percent on game day. He’s been fine in practice.”
Even if Love is not 100 percent Thursday, the Irish have confidence in backup Jadarian Price, who has 720 rushing yards and seven touchdowns this season. He finished with 10 carries for 37 yards in the win over Georgia.
“I really look at JD as a close 1B, as good as Jeremiyah is,” Denbrock said. “The things that Jadarian has done offensively for us overall as a unit, making explosive plays when he’s gotten opportunities and picking up the team at times … where we were a little bit bogged down and he gave us a spark.
“I know he’s anxious to prove that he’s that type of guy that can be that consistent on every snap. He has that ability. I don’t know that it would change us offensively that much. Obviously, you don’t want to not have Jeremiyah Love, if at all possible, but we feel confident with whoever we put out there.”
Though Notre Dame’s running quarterbacks add a different dynamic, the Nittany Lions are confident facing a run-heavy team after having success against Boise State star running back Ashton Jeanty in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl.
“It gives us tremendous confidence, just all three levels with the D-line, linebackers and the secondary, we’ve all shown that we could tackle,” Penn State linebacker Tyler Elsdon said. “When we play at our best with 11 guys swarming to the ball, just relentless effort, I think that’s really what it comes down to — defeating blocks and just trusting the guy next to you, and we all trust each other.”
