Kirk Herbstreit Explains Keys for Notre Dame to Upset Ohio State for National Title

Can the Irish pull off the upset in Monday's national title game?

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit gave the keys to victory for the Fighting Irish on Monday night. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

When the Notre Dame Fighting Irish take the field against the Ohio State Buckeyes in Monday night's national championship game, the Irish will be more than an eight-point underdog in the matchup.

Ohio State has one of the sport's best rosters, littered with five-star talent throughout. Notre Dame's roster is plenty talented enough to be here on this stage, unlike the last time the Irish made a title game in Jan. 2013. However, the Irish lack the quantity of top-end talents that the Buckeyes possess heading into Monday night's matchup.

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit believes that Notre Dame has a chance to capture the program's first national title since 1988, but it will come down to a few keys to the game.

"Notre Dame is like that typical team that they make a movie out of, like, 'How'd they win the national championship?' kind of thing," Herbstreit said on The McShay Show. "They have good players, but they're a better team. They're a great team. ... Notre Dame will have to win the turnover margin. They'll have to win the field position battle with special teams, whether they get a blocked punt or make a big play in that area. And they're going to have to find a way to get to that fourth quarter and look up and it's 20-17 or it's 17-14, whatever it is. And it's like, 'Alright, we've got them where we want them. Let's go find a way to win this game.'"

Notre Dame and Ohio State kickoff Monday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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