The questions had to be asked, but there was little expectation that they would be asked.

When Penn State head coach James Franklin was asked about the health of one of his frontline players ahead of Thursday’s Capital One Orange Bowl, he tried to reach out to his counterpart, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman.

“I wanted to ask you a few questions about the health of the Notre Dame team,” Franklin said. “I was hoping you’d ask for more so we could figure some of this out.”

Both teams are dealing with injury issues among frontline players ahead of tomorrow’s College Football Playoff semifinals.

For Penn State, it’s the status of Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Abdul Carter.

“Yes, we expect Abdul to play,” Franklin said of the defensive end, who left last week’s Fiesta Bowl with an apparent shoulder injury.

“He’s doing everything he can to play. His approach was great. He lived in the training room. But it will be a decision in the game and we will see.”

Franklin said Carter approached the process of returning to the field “the right way.”

“He wants to play,” Franklin continued. “He posted a lot of cryptic messages on social media that you’ve probably seen. I learn just as much from them as I do from our coaches.

“But we are confident and expect Abdul to play and we will see how that develops.”

For Freeman and the Irish, the concern revolves around elite running back Jeremiyah Love, who was plagued by a knee injury in recent games and had to leave the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

It sounds like Love could have done more than Carter in this week’s preseason, but it also sounds like the Irish don’t expect to use him as much as they would like.

“Jeremiyah had a great week of training,” Freeman said. “We have to be smart about how much we ask of him in practice. We have to prepare him for the game. But he is confident.

Freeman then appeared to downplay the significance of Love’s injury.

“No one, I think, feels 100 percent right now,” he said. “We’re in week 15, I think, or game 15 – 16 maybe for you.

“Nobody feels 100 percent. But J Love will be ready to go.”

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