The game that headlines Week 1 of the 2022 college football season is Saturday night with Ohio State hosting No. 2 Notre Dame on Saturday 5. It’s a way to kick off a new campaign — a battle between two of the biggest and best names in college football in the prime-time spotlight.
The Buckeyes are one of the favorites to win a national championship this season, but if they can’t handle their business with the distraught Irish Combat Team, those championship hopes could be dashed prematurely.
It was the first regular-season game in the post-Notre Dame Brian Kelly era, and first-year coach Marcus Freeman is a former Buckeyes player with 37 career starts and four Big Ten championships. Title, he would love to start the 2022 campaign in dismantling his alma mater.
Given their respective stature as college football blue bloods, Ohio State and Notre Dame have held just seven historical meetings and haven’t met as often as you might think. When they do meet, which is almost always a big deal, Saturday night was the fourth straight meeting with both teams in the top 10 in the polls. Ohio State leads the all-time series 4-2, and the two teams are already planning to reunite at home in South Bend next season.
Ohio State and Notre Dame deserve your attention in any given year, but this prime-time top-five matchup on the first Saturday in September will set the tone for both college football playoff hopes. Check out The Ohio State University pair. Notre Dame scores live and is tracked in real time throughout the game.
Ohio State vs Notre Dame: Need to Know
Favorite big stage for the Heisman Trophy: The preseason Heisman Trophy favorites didn’t always fare as well in the final vote, in part because they faced scrutiny every week. Ohio State quarterback CJ Stroud is a preseason favorite for the award in 2022, and whether his performance in this game is fair or not will have a lasting impact on many Heisman voters. Considering that Freeman had a lot of success as a defensive coordinator before being promoted to head coach, and that Notre Dame could have a top 15 or even a top 10 team this season, led by a defensive lineman, that’s not a big deal. The ideal is in Isaiah Forsky. But the other side of the argument is also valid. If Stroud plays well against this fine opponent on a big stage, he’ll be the man to beat with quality wins, while another Heisman contender is a few weeks away to rival it.
Breaking down Notre Dame’s offense and Ohio State’s defense: One of the most discussed coaching moves of the offseason hasn’t even reached the level of a head coach. Ohio State’s hiring of Jim Knowles as defensive coordinator could end up being as significant as the head coaching changes we’ve seen this past offseason. Knowles has had a great year at Oklahoma State, tasked with leading the defense and perfectly complementing the explosive offense already in place. Knowles’ first challenge, however, will be an unknown as the Buckeyes face Tyler Buchner’s new starting quarterback. A blue-chip prospect graduating from high school in California, Buchner sees some limited action as a freshman for the Irishman in 2021 as part of a three-back shuffle with Jack Cohen and Drupine. Now he’s totally won the job, but playing without last year’s star running back (Karen Williams) and has lost a key wide receiver (Avery Davis) to injury.
All-American showdown on Labor Day weekend: Ohio State and Notre Dame have a total of nine players selected for the first or second team. 2022 CBS Sports Preseason All-AmericanThe 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 options are 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 percent of the 44 players deemed All-American who will play at the same time, adding some legitimate star power to the collision of these iconic college football programs.
How to Watch Ohio State vs Notre Dame Live
date: Saturday, September. 3| time: 7:30pm ET
Place: Ohio Stadium – Columbus, Ohio
television: ABC | live streaming: fuboTV (free trial)
Ohio State’s predictions for Notre Dame, featured
Featured Games | Ohio Buckeyes vs.Notre Dame fighting Ireland
In a vacuum or simulation, Ohio State won the game by 20 points, but college football is played by humans, and the stage is too big to imagine a blowout Saturday night. The Buckeyes were under all the pressure and had some nightmare nights in non-conference games in Columbus. In the end, Ohio State is the significantly better team and will win, but the game was fun enough for the Fighting Irish to cover that number. Prediction: Notre Dame +17.5
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