Greg McElroy tabs Ohio State vs. Notre Dame as one of 2023's best early season games

Greg McElroy believes the Ohio State Buckeyes traveling to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish is one of the best early season games for 2023.

Pressed about which showdowns he’s most excited for at the moment, the former Alabama Crimson Tide star explained why the matchup between two of the biggest brands in college football is tickling his fancy.

“I’m going to go with Ohio State and Notre Dame,” revealed McElroy. “Ohio State last year of course, second half put the clamps down defensively. Limited Tyler Buchner and company. But for the most part, Ohio State offensively, not the type of juggernaut performance that many of us anticipated.

“A lot of us looked at it and said man, Notre Dame played well that day. Played well on defense, at least. Just couldn’t punch it in when they crossed the 50. They couldn’t put together enough drives offensively to get the job done. Now they host the Buckeyes in what should be one of the biggest non-conference games in recent history.”

Of course, last season’s showdown is a good baseline, but you can basically throw it all away because of how different both Ohio State and Notre Dame are in 2023.

Both starting quarterbacks from that game have moved on, as CJ Stroud left Columbus to be selected second overall by the Houston Texans in the 2023 NFL Draft, while the aforementioned Buchner now calls Tuscaloosa home after transferring to Alabama. Last season, Stroud out-dueled Buchner, passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns, while Buchner only passed for 177 yards.

This season it’ll be Kyle McCord slingling it for the Buckeyes, while former Wake Forest star Sam Hartman will look to take the Fighting Irish to a new level. Notre Dame actually has the edge at the quarterback position in 2023 it would seem at the moment, which gives this year’s showdown a whole new breath of life.

Additionally, another fundamental difference in 2023’s version of Ohio State versus Notre Dame is the fact that Marcus Freeman’s squad will be the home team. That’ll be a big advantage for the Fighting Irish’s defense, which was the best part of their team against the Buckeyes in 2022.

As you can see, it’s easy to realize why Greg McElroy and so many others are exciting for Ohio State versus Notre Dame in 2023. It should be a fantastic game when the time comes.