Greg McElroy considers whether Notre Dame can beat Ohio State

Notre Dame will play in one of this weekend’s biggest games when Ohio State comes to South Bend. With the game two days out, how much luck is Greg McElroy expecting the Irish to have against the Buckeyes?

Well, as McElroy said during ‘Always College Football’ on Wednesday, Notre Dame’s chances are going to come down to their style of play. If they play less like Ohio State with the speed and athleticism and more like Michigan per se with the pace and strength, that’s where he feels that their best overall opportunity to win will be.

“If you try to play in space and with speed against Ohio State? It’s a losing battle, it’s a losing battle,” McElroy explained. “If you’re going to try to out-Ohio State Ohio State? You’re not going to be able to get it done.”

“What’s the team that has given Ohio State the most fits the last two years? It’s been Michigan,” said McElroy. “Michigan has kind of showcased the blueprint for how you can neutralize Ohio State a little bit.”

That means Notre Dame’s offensive line and defense particularly need to be prepared to muck up this matchup. He believes they have the defensive pieces to matchup in spots with Ohio State which is why, on offense, the offensive line could make all the difference.

“Do they have the size and speed in space and all this stuff? I’m not sure. But I think they have the offensive line,” said McElroy. “That’s, I think, the big question. Can you take the air out of the football? Can you protect against an athletic group up front that’s going to try to pin their ears back in obvious pass situations? Will you protect Sam Hartman and allow him enough time to survey the field and find a receiving corps that to me, at this moment, is improved but, still, against top-quality competition, is a bit of question mark?”

Styles make fights and it takes the right approach in order to compete with a team like Ohio State. Still, if they can play a certain way come Saturday, McElroy fully expects to see Notre Dame compete with them until the very end and potentially pick up one of their biggest of the last few years.

“I’m cautiously optimistic that Notre Dame can play their game against the Buckeyes,” said McElroy.

“I can tell you this. It’d be, by far, the biggest win in the Marcus Freeman tenure. I think it’d probably be, by far, the biggest win in the last seven or eight years for Notre Dame,” McElroy said. “Ohio State has everybody’s universal respect. If Notre Dame can somehow pull this off? Gone is the notion that they don’t perform well in big games. I think they’ve got a real chance to compete this weekend. I think they’re going to play excellent.