Notre Dame football score predictions: Fighting Irish vs. Marshall staff picks
Fighting Irish football is back in Notre Dame Stadium for the first time in 2022. Saturday is not only Notre Dame’s home opener, but Marcus Freeman’s head-coaching debut in the storied venue.
Notre Dame hosts Sun Belt conference member Marshall (2:30 p.m. ET, NBC) for in the teams’ first-ever meeting. The sportsbooks see Freeman cruising to his first career win – the Irish are a 20.5-point favorite at FanDuel and DraftKings. The BlueandGold.com staff forecasts a similar outcome. Here are the staff predictions.
Patrick Engel: Notre Dame 38, Marshall 13
Marshall has been a steady Group of Five opponent and has reeled off five straight seasons with at least seven wins. In a transition year with barely 50 percent of its production returning from last season, though, it’s hard to imagine the Thundering Herd will be fully clicking and cohesive in Week 2. Especially without 2021 Freshman All-American running back Rasheen Ali, who led the country in rushing touchdowns last season. This might not be a total laugher, but Notre Dame should control it wire to wire.
Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 38, Marshall 14
The loss of Ali is going to be too much for the Thundering Herd to overcome offensively. Notre Dame quarterback Tyler Buchner will do enough when the Irish have the ball, meanwhile, to allow junior Drew Pyne to get some garbage time reps. This won’t be a scare like the Toledo game in last year’s home opener. It’ll be a comfortable enough victory to build on for the following week’s game against California.
Mike Singer: Notre Dame 41, Marshall 13
The Fighting Irish shouldn’t have too much trouble on paper against Marshall, but last season, the Irish struggled to beat Group of Five opponent Toledo. Freeman and Co. will look to avoid hovering near a disaster like that performance, and they should be able to do so in their home opener.
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Look for a much more explosive Fighting Irish offense than what we saw last weekend in Columbus. I’m not sure if it’ll be quite a Buchner unleashed performance, but there will be a lot more points on the board. On the other side of the ball, Marshall has a decent quarterback in sixth-year senior and Texas Tech transfer Henry Colombi, but this Notre Dame defense is stingy.
Todd D. Burlage: Notre Dame 34, Marshall 7
Ready in 2022 to ride the strong legs of Ali, Marshall took an unexpected hit when the talented sophomore — who led the nation with 23 rushing touchdowns last season — took an indefinite and unexpected leave of absence in mid-August. Marshall is a talented team that returns 10 starters. But without Ali, the Thundering Herd won’t hold together in the first home game for Freeman.
Steve Downey: Notre Dame 42, Marshall 10
Marshall has played in a bowl game eight of the past nine years while posting a 75-40 overall record (.652 winning percentage). However, the Herd is 0-5 in their last five matchups with Power Five opponents and the average margin of defeat has been 20 points. Not only is Marshall missing Ali, but it is replacing three five-year players along its offensive line and breaking in a new quarterback. The Irish defense should dominate on the way to comfortable victory.
