2015-16 GMS NCAA Football Bowl Season Series ~ Fiesta Bowl

The 2015 Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl will match the 10-2 Fighting Irish from Notre Dame against the 11-1 Buckeyes from Ohio State. This New Year’s Six Bowl features two teams that were just a few plays away from playing in the Bowl Championship Series. Notre Dame was knocked out after suffering just a two-point loss on the road against a tough Stanford squad. Ohio State spent much of the year in the top four, but were tossed out after losing to Michigan State and falling short of the Big Ten championship.

Bowl: Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl

Teams: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date/Time: January 1, 2016 – 1 PM EST on ESPN

Location: Univ. of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, AZ

Vegas Line/Total: Ohio St -6.5 / O/U 57.5

Written by: Erik the Hun

Notre Dame 10 – 2 Record – 8 – 4 Vs Spread Over – Under: 6 – 6 Season Results 11/28/15 @ Stanford L 36-38 W 4 O 57 11/21/15 vs Boston College W 19-16 L -14.5 U 43 11/14/15 Wake Forest W 28-7 L -25.5 U 52 11/07/15 @ Pittsburgh W 42-30 W -7.5 O 52.5 10/31/15 @ Temple W 24-20 L -11 U 52 10/17/15 USC W 41-31 W -6 O 62 10/10/15 Navy W 41-24 W -13.5 O 59.5 10/03/15 @ Clemson L 22-24 W 3 U 48.5 09/26/15 UMass W 62-27 W -28.5 O 61.5 09/19/15 Georgia Tech W 30-22 W 2 U 55.5 09/12/15 @ Virginia W 34-27 L -13.5 O 47 09/05/15 Texas W 38-3 W -8.5 U 48

Ohio State 11 – 1 Record – 5 – 7 Vs Spread Over – Under: 3 – 9 Season Results 11/28/15 @ Michigan W 42-13 W -1.5 O 46.5 11/21/15 Michigan State L 14-17 L -14.5 U 53.5 11/14/15 @ Illinois W 28-3 W -17.5 U 55 11/07/15 Minnesota W 28-14 L -23.5 U 53 10/24/15 @ Rutgers W 49-7 W -21.5 U 63.5 10/17/15 Penn State W 38-10 W -17.5 U 50 10/10/15 Maryland W 49-28 L -31.5 O 57.5 10/03/15 @ Indiana W 34-27 L -21.5 U 64.5 09/26/15 W. Michigan W 38-12 L -33.5 U 62 09/19/15 N. Illinois W 20-13 L -34 U 66 09/12/15 Hawaii W 38-0 L -41 U 65 09/07/15 @ Virginia Tech W 42-24 W -13.5 O 52

Notre Dame Last 5 Bowl Appearances: December 30, 2014 – Music City Bowl – Irish 31 – 28 LSU December 28, 2013 – Pinstripe Bowl – Irish 29 – 16 Rutgers January 7, 2013 – BCS Title Game – Irish – 14 – 42 Alabama December 29, 2011 – Champs Sports Bowl – Irish 14 – 18 Florida St December 31, 2010 – Sun Bowl – Irish 33 – 17 Miami (FL)

Ohio State Last 5 Bowl Appearances: January 12, 2015 – BCS Title Game – Ohio State 42 – 20 Oregon January 1, 2015 – Sugar Bowl – Ohio State 42 – 35 Alabama January 3, 2014 – Orange Bowl – Ohio State 35 – 40 Clemson January 2, 2012 – Gator Bowl – Ohio State 17 -24 Florida January 5, 2011 – Sugar Bowl – Ohio State 31 – 26 Arkansas

Notre Dame Outlook:

The Fighting Irish’s two losses both came by less than a field goal to two Power Five conference champions —  Stanford and Clemson. The resilient Irish overcame injuries at key offensive positions. Starting quarterback Malik Zaire went out with a broken ankle in week two, and starting tailback C.J. Prosise suffered a severe sprained ankle in the latter half of the season. Prosise is slated to return for the Fiesta Bowl.

Despite the injuries, Notre Dame managed to have a successful season. An outstanding offense that averaged over 34 points and a suffocating defense that allowed just over 22 a contest were the key ingredients to this challenging season.

With the injury to Zaire, Notre Dame looked to sophomore DeShone Kizer to lead the offense. Kizer stepped it up against strong competition and threw for 2596 yards with 19 touchdowns and only nine picks. The Notre Dame quarterback also tallied 504 yards on the ground with another nine scores.

Running back C.J. Prosise, despite a late-game injury, accumulated 1056 yards on the ground. Prosise also caught 26 passes for another 308 yards and totaled 12 touchdowns. Freshman running back Josh Adams filled in nicely with 102 carries for 760 yards and six more trips to the end zone.

Big-play receiver William Fuller led the Irish receiving corps with 56 catches that stacked up 1145 yards and 13 touchdowns. Fuller’s gaudy 20.4 yards a catch proves just how explosive he can be. Four other receivers caught over 20 passes that produced 1518 yards and seven scores.

The defense from South Bend, Indiana was solid throughout the whole season. The Irish ranked in the top 40 in the NCAA Division I standings in three major categories. Passing the ball didn’t come easy as Notre Dame allowed only 198.6 yards a game that ranked 29th in the country. The 362.4 total yards allowed a game was good for 38th. Linebacker Jalen Smith led the group with 113 tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Ohio State Outlook:

Last year’s defending champions found themselves nera top of the rankings by staying undefeated until the late season loss to the Spartans. Despite a tumultuous rotation at quarterback and several games that were to close for comfort, Urban Myer’s team churned out an 11-win season and a spot in the prestigious Fiesta Bowl.

Since the departure of Ohio State’s offensive coordinator Tom Herman to Houston, neither of the Buckeye’s quarterbacks were effective enough to lay claim to the starting job. It’s a possibility that both quarterbacks will see action against the Irish.

The early season starter Cardale Jones threw for 1459 yards on 175 attempts with 10 total touchdowns but eight interceptions. J.T. Barrett stepped in and passed for 781 yards on 116 attempts with 10 touchdowns and only three picks. Barrett was far more productive running the football. The signal-caller scampered for 586 yards on 92 attempts and reached pay dirt 11 more times.

Ohio State’s running back Ezekiel Elliot completed another superb year once again. Elliot ran his way to an impressive 1672 yards on 262 attempts and recorded a remarkable 19 touchdowns. Besides the two quarterbacks pitching in on the ground, Elliot was the ground game for the Buckeyes in 2015.

Receiver Michael Thomas led Ohio State with 49 receptions for 709 yards and eight touchdowns. Three others pitched in for 1038 yards on 74 catches for 10 more scores. Under-utilized receiver Braxton Miller could be a huge factor if they can create ways to get him the ball in the open field.

What allowed the Buckeyes to win 11 games was a defense that dominated opposing offenses, allowing three teams to score over 20 points. This unit finished in the top 25 in all of the FBS four major categories. Their 176.2 yards a game ranked the Buckeyes 11th in the nation against the pass. Joey Bosa and the front seven allowed only 127.3 yards a game via the ground, slotting them at a respectable 22nd. The 14 points allowed was second to only Wisconsin.

Match-up Analysis & Prediction

Analysis:

The Buckeyes are a 6.5 favorite against a tough Irish club. If Ohio State shows up and plays hard, they have the talent to could cover that line with ease. Notre Dame will rely on its balanced attack and solid defense to keep this one close.

With so many players looking to boost their NFL stock on a big stage, this ball game could prove to be one of the most exciting back-and-forth battles of the 2015 bowl season. Prepare to be on the edge of your seat as the game nears the fourth quarter because I have a feeling this one will be close.

Prediction:

To get further analysis from Ej the Rainmaker and Erik the Hun, check out our audio preview of the Fiesta Bowl using the audio file below…