Joel Klatt evaluates what win over Notre Dame would mean for Ohio State
Ohio State’s matchup with Notre Dame is going to hold a lot of value for whichever Top-10 team can leave Saturday night with a win. For the Buckeyes, though, what would a victory in South Bend do for their season?
To Joel Klatt, it would firstly mean a ton for the overall perspective of Ohio State. As he said on his show on Wednesday, a win this weekend at Notre Dame would calm the nerves of everyone in the fanbase based on its value both for the team and its head coach.
“You would be able to audibly hear an exhale out of Columbus,” Klatt said. “Every single fan would be like, ‘Phew! Man, it’s been so stressful in these three weeks where we’re beating everyone by only 20!’. Ohio State is under the most scrutiny of any team in America in college football. Even more so than even ‘Bama maybe.”
“If they can go and win on the road with a young quarterback? There will be a massive exhale,” continued Klatt. “It will be one of the best wins on their resume that they’ve had in quite some time. And it can start to put to bed this narrative that Ryan Day only wins games against teams that he is supposed to and doesn’t win the big ones.”
On top of that, Klatt says this win would then send them off well into their Big Ten schedule. With what’s still ahead of them, another victory to their name rather than one tally already in the loss column could make all the difference for their record based on what’s still ahead for the Buckeyes.
“I also believe that this would be a real feather in the cap for the team from a confidence perspective. This would propel them through their schedule which will be difficult,” explained Klatt. “They’ve got a bye after this game. Then they’re going to be against Maryland, which I think is a good football team, at Purdue. Home to Penn State – a massive game, obviously. That Penn State team is specifically constructed to match up with Ohio State. They’ve got to go to Wisconsin, at Rutgers which all of the sudden is playing better. Michigan State which looks like, maybe, the worst team in the Big Ten right now with everything that’s going on, Minnesota, and then at Michigan.”
“Their schedule, even with a win, doesn’t all of a sudden open up like Notre Dame’s does. But, certainly, you look at this. And you’re thinking to yourself, ‘Okay, Ohio State is what Ohio State has been if they win this game,'” Klatt said.
While some may think otherwise, Ohio State is still doing more than just fine so far this season. A win over Notre Dame would only further justify that stance as it would then take them to the next level as a potential contender by the end of the regular season.