Notre Dame will have Jeremiah Love, Howard Cross III vs. IU

Notre Dame will have two of its beaten starters available for Friday’s first-round College Football Playoff game against Indiana, as defensive lineman Howard Cross III and running back Jeremiah Love will both play.

Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman on Sunday confirmed the return of Cross, who has not played since Nov. 9 against Florida State when he suffered a high ankle sprain. Cross, who earned All-America honors in 2023 and was a Bednarik Award semifinalist, has four sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss in nine games this season.

“Howard Cross is an outstanding football player,” Freeman said. “When you don’t have him, he’s missed.”

Love, who leads Notre Dame with 949 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, suffered a right knee injury in the second half of the team’s Nov. 30 regular-season finale at USC. He had 99 rushing yards and a touchdown in the game and showed an acrobatic hurdle over a Trojan defender and has 336 rushing yards and five touchdowns in his past three contests.

Notre Dame will also have reserve running back Devyn Ford available, Freeman said, while linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (knee), who has 29 tackles and a sack, and more reserves will be out against Indiana.