Ohio State football: Everything you need to know about Notre Dame
By Ryan Stano
It was a long wait, but Ohio State football is back this weekend. The Buckeyes have a really good team and they face a really good team on Saturday night. They will be taking on Notre Dame, who starts the season as the fifth-ranked team in the country. Here is everything you need to know about them.
First off, their best player is Michael Mayer. He’s a tight end that is both athletic and physical. He is a strong blocker but is deadly as a receiver. His size makes him a nightmare matchup. There’s a really good chance that he is the Notre Dame player with the most targets in this game.
Notre Dame is starting a new quarterback this year. Jack Coan is off trying his hand at the NFL and was in camp with the Colts, so now it’s Tyler Buchner who gets the call. Buchner is a dual-threat guy. Last year, he had 336 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns in 10 games he played.
That dual-threat ability is going to keep the Buckeye defense on their toes. They have to be ready for the read-option. Notre Dame was a run-first team a year ago, but they lost their best running back. I still expect them to try and establish the run early to open up play-action possibilities.
On defense, the Fighting Irish have a great defensive end in Isaiah Foskey. The junior led the team last year with 11 sacks and had a whopping 6 forced fumbles. He is projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft. He goes against Paris Johnson Jr, who will be starting his first-ever game at left tackle.
The Ohio State football team knows that this game won’t be easy. To beat this team, they have to stop the run early. As long as the defense holds up, the offense should be able to score enough points to keep this game out of reach.
Chipping on Foskey might be necessary if the offensive line struggles with him early. Other than that, I don’t expect the Irish to be able to do too much against this Buckeye offense. It’s just too good to stop.
Next. Ohio State vs. Notre Dame: Odds, prediction. dark
The coaching matchup of Marcus Freeman returning to Columbus gives this game a little extra juice, especially after some comments taking shots at the Buckeyes. It should be a spectacular opening game to watch!