Jeremiyah Love injury update: Notre Dame RB's status vs. Penn State

What we know as Notre Dame hopes to get Jeremiyah Love back on the field against Penn State in the College Football Playoff Orange Bowl semifinal game.

Notre Dame should have Jeremiyah Love on the field against Penn State after dealing with a knee injury. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love should be ready to play against Penn State in the College Football Playoff Orange Bowl semifinal on Thursday, head coach Marcus Freeman said.

“Jeremiyah has had a good week of practice,” Freeman said. 

“We have to be smart in terms of how much we’re asking him to do in practice. We’ve got to get him ready for the game, but he’s confident. Nobody feels 100 percent right now because we’re in Week 15, but J-Love will be good to go.”

Love sustained a minor knee injury in the third quarter of Notre Dame’s victory against Georgia in the College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl quarterfinal game.

The running back was unable to return to that game for the Fighting Irish, leading to some concern about his availability leading into the team’s next playoff challenge.

Love also injured his knee in the regular season finale against USC.

He was limited to just 6 carries for 19 yards against Georgia, with quarterback Riley Leonard picking up the slack, leading the team with 80 yards rushing on 14 attempts.

Love leads Notre Dame with 1,076 rushing yards and has scored 16 touchdowns on the ground this season.

He made history in the first round of the College Football Playoff on just one play.

Love took a hand off and ran down the sideline for a 98 yard touchdown against Indiana, establishing the longest TD carry by any player in College Football Playoff history.

His production has been integral in what finished as the 11th ranked rushing offense in college football, averaging almost 218 yards per game.

Notre Dame is fourth among 134 FBS teams with 42 rushing touchdowns total.

The team’s rushing capacity is critical to its offensive success generally, as the Irish come into the game ranking just 101st nationally in passing production.

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