Dick Vitale makes prediction on Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

No. 6 Ohio State heads to South Bend this weekend for a date with No. 9 Notre Dame to headline Week 4’s college football slate. All the big names are expected to be there — including longtime ESPN college basketball commentator Dick Vitale.

Dickie V, who was diagnosed with vocal cord cancer over the summer, is making the trip to South Bend for the game to see family and watch the Irish take down the Buckeyes. He even provided a score prediction while previewing the matchup.

“Here come the Irish Baby! Heading now to the beautiful [Notre Dame] campus to see [Notre Dame football] get a major W vs the favored Buckeyes – yes my VBDI (Vitale bald dome index) feels a big Irish W happening,” Vitale wrote on a post on Instagram. “ND 34 -OHIO ST 27 baby! #awesomebaby yes [Rece Davis] QB of the [fabulous] GameDay crew are in town but since I can’t speak I will not be able to visit but the place will be electric for the fans gathered.”

Vitale revealed that two of his grandchildren, Ryan and Sydney, attend Notre Dame and both are fired up for the matchup. It’s no wonder he’s sporting the iconic ND logo and picking the Irish to down the Buckeyes at home.

The biggest question for Ohio State will be whether or not their defense can contain the high-powered offense of the Irish led by transfer quarterback Sam Hartman. After four games, Hartman ranks fifth in the nation in passing yards with 1,061 to go with a nation-leading 13 touchdowns to go with zero interceptions over 97 passing attempts ahead of Saturday’s marquee matchup. No team has been able to stop him, or the rest of the offense for that matter — which is why the Irish rank No. 1 in total offense after four games.

Still, Ohio State is the higher-ranked team for a reason. The Buckeyes have mostly flown under the radar to begin the season thanks to an easy few weeks to begin the season and look to prove their worth against a white-hot Notre Dame team on the road. Ohio State feels like they’ve been put on the back burner over the past two seasons, and a win in South Bend could turn that right around before they begin conference play against Maryland the following week.

Kickoff between the two top-10 programs is set to kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET live on NBC. The Buckeyes will enter the back half of game week as a three-point betting favorite, per Vegas Insider, despite playing on the road.