The Ohio State football team is ready to take on Notre Dame for the national title. Both teams have had to play in the longest college football season in history in order to get to this point. Because the season has been so long, both teams have suffered injuries along the way.
In the College Football Playoff, the Buckeyes have been fairly healthy. They have been able to run through each of their games while staying pretty healthy. Unfortunately, two players got hurt in the Cotton Bowl against Texas, and one of them missed the entire second half.
Denzel Burke was one of the players who got hurt in the Cotton Bowl. He was dealing with an upper-body injury that forced him to miss the entire second half. Jermaine Mathews stepped in and played very well in his stead. J.T. Tuimoloau was the other one who got hurt. His ankle got rolled up on, but he finished the game.
Two key Ohio State football players will be healthy heading into the National Championship Game
Both Burke and Tuimoloau will be good to go tonight for the game. Tuimoloau was not seen with any sort of ankle brace while Ohio State was doing its final walkthrough. That indicates that the rest that he has gotten over the past ten days is enough for his injury.
Even if Burke ends up being a little dinged up for this game, the Buckeyes have a lot of trust in Mathews to play well. They have more depth at corner than they do at defensive end, but Tuimoloau will be good to play in his final collegiate game as well.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame has a couple of injuries on the offensive line. That could be a big problem for them going against this excellent Buckeye defensive line. It will be fascinating to watch.