ATLANTA — Notre Dame and Ohio State arrived in Atlanta on chartered planes Friday as the last two teams standing in the College Football Playoff moved closer to Monday night’s national championship game.
The eighth-seeded Buckeyes (13-2) of the Big Ten are big favorites — the opening line was 9 1/2, according to BetMGM, and it was still 8 1/2 on Friday — but seventh-seeded Notre Dame (14-1) might have an advantage. Coach Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish already played once this season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the site of Monday’s matchup (7:30 p.m. on ESPN).
In a game that strengthened their playoff hopes, the independent Irish beat Atlantic Coast Conference member Georgia Tech 31-13 on Oct. 19 as quarterback Riley Leonard ran for two touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets were hosting Notre Dame at the home of the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons instead of their on-campus stadium a few miles away.
Is the familiarity with the 70,000-plus-seat venue an advantage for Notre Dame?
“We hope so,” Freeman said at the airport in Atlanta. “Now we are on the other side of the field and in a different locker room, but we have played here. We know what it’s like. Each team will have two opportunities to go into the stadium and practice, so by the time Monday gets here, I think both teams will be comfortable with the environment.”