With the National Championship game set to take place in two days, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be down an offensive lineman when they take on the Ohio State Buckeyes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Left tackle Anthonie Knapp will miss the game as he recovers from an ankle surgery, per Mike Berardino of the South Bend Tribune.

“#NDFootball LT Anthonie Knapp will undergo tightrope surgery on his sprained left ankle. Expects 6-week recovery period and should be ready for spring ball,” Berardino reported via Twitter/X.

The 6-foot-4, 294-pound freshman from Roswell, Ga. has started at left tackle for Notre Dame football in all 15 of their games this season.

Coming out of high school, Knapp was listed as a four-star recruit, according to On3's Industry Ratings. He was the No. 271 player nationally and the No. 19 interior offensive lineman in the class of 2024.

Knapp helped Notre Dame football's offensive line to a successful season in which the unit was named a semifinalist for the Joe Moore Award, recognizing college football's top offensive line.

Notre Dame football and Ohio State football face off on Monday at 6:30 p.m. CT. ESPN will carry the television broadcast.

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What is a key to Notre Dame football's success on Monday?

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates a touchdown scored during the first round of the College Football Playoff between Notre Dame and Indiana University at Notre Dame Stadium on Friday, Dec. 20, 2024, in South Bend.
MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame football is coming into this game as an underdog and the unavailability of Knapp does not make things easier.

The Fighting Irish are in this position for a reason, however, and are capable of getting the job done. What is one thing Notre Dame football needs to do to get the job done? Capitalize on early downs, according to Chip Patterson of CBS Sports.

“Notre Dame ranks 128th out of 134 FBS teams in third-and-long (7 yards or more) conversion rate, achieving a first down just 16% of the time,” Patterson wrote. “The ability to avoid third down altogether has prevented this weakness from being a bigger issue, but so too is how Notre Dame has avoided facing third-and-long by having success on early downs.”

As the underdog, Notre Dame football needs things to go as smoothly as possible to end its National Championship drought.