Watch the Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Fiesta Bowl online: Time, TV schedule, live stream, 3 things to know

Both Ohio State and Notre Dame had disappointing late season losses that kept them out of the College Football Playoff, but now they're together in a monster New Year's Day matchup that has to make Fiesta Bowl execs smile.

Ohio State was the preseason No. 1 team after winning last year's national championship and returning pretty much everyone. However, the offense couldn't find its footing as the Buckeyes flipped between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett at quarterback. The offensive struggles led to too-close-for-comfort games against Northern Illinois, Indiana and others. OSU didn't play a great team until a home loss to Michigan State late in the season that was highlighted by Ezekiel Elliott calling out the coaches. OSU regrouped and dominated Michigan the next week to finish 11-1.

Notre Dame finished 10-2 after a push for the Playoff, but given the injuries all over the field, it's a miracle the Irish even got to this point. Without quarterback Malik Zaire, running back Tarean Folston and a number of top defenders, Notre Dame took out Temple, Navy, USC and Pitt, and nearly took down both Clemson and Stanford on the road. That was thanks to the play of a stellar offensive line, freshman quarterback DeShone Kizer and running back C.J. Prosise.

The offensive explosion against an outstanding Michigan defense came too late for a College Football Playoff run, but it showed what this offense can do behind Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett. Elliott in particular ran wild in that game, rushing for 214 yards on 7.1 yards per carry. He broke out at the end of last season, too, and the has the ability to dominate this game. If he does, he'll have bought himself some more NFL Draft stock.

NFL scouts will love this game. They'll get to watch Elliott, along with the stars all over the Ohio State defense, starting with Joey Bosa, but also including linebacker Darron Lee and safety Vonn Bell. Notre Dame has a number of impressive offensive and defensive linemen, from Ronnie Stanley to Sheldon Day, plus star linebacker Jaylon Smith. Smith, Bosa, Elliott, Day, Taylor Decker and Michael Thomas are all on Dan Kadar's first round mock draft.

The only good thing about all the injuries is that Notre Dame got a lot of young talent some playing time and those young players looked very good. Kizer has been the star on offense, but a lot of others have stepped up, including running back Josh Adams, who rushed for 168 yards against Stanford. Star wide receiver Will Fuller also says he's returning next season. Even if the Irish don't win this one, they have to be feeling good about 2016.

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