The first full week of the 2022 college football season features a packed schedule that includes three games between teams in the preseason AP Top 25. But the game that heads up Week 1 is No. 2 Ohio State hosting No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday.
The Buckeyes are one of the hottest picks to win the national championship this season, but those title hopes could be dashed early if they can’t take care of business against an upset Fighting Irish squad.
It’s the first regular-season game of the post-Brian Kelly era at Notre Dame, and first-year coach Marcus Freeman, a former Buckeye player with 37 career starts and four Big Ten titles to his name, would love to kick off the season. 2022 campaign tearing down his alma mater.
With just seven meetings all-time, Ohio State and Notre Dame haven’t met as often as you might think considering their respective status as college football’s blue bloods. When they meet, it’s almost always a big deal, as Saturday night marks the fourth straight meeting with both teams ranked in the top 10 in the polls. Ohio State leads the all-time series 4-2, and the two teams are already scheduled to meet next season for the home-and-home finals in South Bend.
Ohio State and Notre Dame would deserve your attention in any year, but this top-five matchup in prime time on the first Saturday in September is a game that will set the tone for two college football playoff hopefuls.
State of Ohio vs. Notre Dame: I need to know
Big stage for the Heisman Trophy favorite: Preseason Heisman Trophy favorites haven’t always fared so well in the final vote, in part because of the scrutiny they face week after week. Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud is the preseason favorite to win the award in 2022, and whether he performs fair or not in this game will have a lasting impact on many Heisman voters. That’s not ideal considering Freeman had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator before his promotion to head coach, and the fact that Notre Dame could have a top-15, or even top-10, unit this season, led by a defensive lineman. in Isaiah Foskey. But the argument from the other side is also true. If Stroud plays well against this quality opponent on a big stage, then he becomes the man to beat with a quality win that will take several weeks for another Heisman contender to match.
Breaking down Notre Dame’s offense vs. Ohio State’s defense: One of the most discussed coaching moves of the offseason wasn’t even at the head coaching level. Ohio State’s hiring of Jim Knowles as its defensive coordinator could end up being almost as important as the flashy head-coaching changes we saw last offseason. Knowles is coming off a breakout year at Oklahoma State, and his job is to lead a defense that could be a perfect complement to the explosive offense that already exists. However, the first challenge for Knowles will be a bit of an unknown as the Buckeyes face a new starting quarterback in Tyler Buchner. A top prospect coming out of high school in California, Buchner saw limited action as a freshman for the Irish in 2021 as part of a three-quarterback mix featuring Jack Coan and Drew Pyne. He’s now fully earned the job, but he steps onto the field without last year’s star running back (Kyren Williams) and already without a key wide receiver (Avery Davis) due to injury.
An All-American matchup on Labor Day weekend: Ohio State and Notre Dame have a combined nine players who were first- or second-team selections for the 2022 CBS Sports Preseason All-America Team. The Buckeyes had five with running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba and offensive lineman Paris Johnson voting for the first team, while quarterback CJ Stroud and offensive lineman Dawand Jones made the second team. Notre Dame’s four picks were offensive lineman Jarrett Patterson (first team), defensive back Brandon Joseph (first team), tight end Michael Mayer (second team), and defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey (second team). That’s 20% of the 44 All-American position players who will be on the field at the same time, adding legitimate star power to the clash of these iconic college football programs.
How to watch Ohio State vs. Notre Dame live
Date: Saturday September 3 | Weather: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Location: Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
TV: ABC | Live broadcast: fuboTV (Try it for free)
Ohio State vs Notre Dame Prediction, Picks
featured game | Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
In a vacuum or in a simulation, Ohio State wins this game by 20 points, but college football is played by humans and the stage is too big for a Saturday night blowout. The Buckeyes are playing with all the pressure and there have been some nightmarish non-conference nights in Columbus. Ultimately, Ohio State is the noticeably better team and will win, but this game is interesting long enough for the Fighting Irish to cover the number. Prediction: Notre Dame +17.5
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