Newsstand: Notre Dame opens Week 1 as heavy underdog at Ohio State
The oddsmakers have spoken. Notre Dame is on the wrong side of a lopsided betting line in its Week 1 matchup against Ohio State.
The No. 5 Fighting Irish travel to Columbus, Ohio, to face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. ET this Saturday. The home team is favored to take care of the visitor by 17.5 points according to BetMGM.
Initial reaction has been along the lines of “how could a top-five team be a three-score underdog against anybody?” It’s not completely unthinkable, though.
Oregon is not a top-five team, but the Ducks are highly-rated at No. 11. They’re a 17.5-point underdog against No. 3 Georgia in a neutral-site matchup. There is only one other game between two ranked teams this weekend; No. 19 Arkansas is a six-point favorite over No. 23 Cincinnati.
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The Irish haven’t been this big of an underdog since going against No. 1 Alabama in the College Football Playoff in the 2020 season. The Crimson Tide were favored by 18.5 points according to OddsShark. Alabama won, 31-14.
That was just the second time during the Brian Kelly era Notre Dame was at least a 17-point underdog. Here’s a full breakdown of every time the Irish have been at least an underdog of that magnitude since 1998.
| Date | Opponent | Point Spread | Result | Cover? |
| Jan. 1, 2021 | Alabama (neutral) | 18.5 | L, 31-14 | Yes |
| Nov. 26, 2016 | at USC | 17.5 | L, 45-27 | No |
| Nov. 29, 2008 | at USC | 32.5 | L, 38-3 | No |
| Oct. 6, 2007 | at UCLA | 21 | W, 20-6 | Yes |
| Sept. 29, 2007 | at Purdue | 21.5 | L, 33-19 | Yes |
| Sept. 8, 2007 | at Penn State | 18 | L, 31-10 | No |
| Nov. 27, 2004 | at USC | 24 | L, 41-10 | No |
| Oct. 3, 1998 | at Stanford | 17 | W, 35-17 | Yes |
Notre Dame tweets of the weekend
These karaoke videos never get old.
Almost game day.
The top-ranked recruit in the Irish’s class of 2023 is a ball hawk.
Quote of the weekend
“I wrote Brian Kelly maybe eight positive letters during his time at Notre Dame. And I go to the mailbox every day hoping I’m going to find an answer. He never responded to one of them.”
— Lou Holtz on not receiving letters in return from Brian Kelly
Headlines of the weekend
What Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer learned from three days around NFL All-Pros this summer (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Hey Horka! Examining the Notre Dame offense, Marcus Freeman and the 2022 season (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How three words drive Notre Dame tight ends Michael Mayer, Kevin Bauman (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How Blake Grupe kicked a bumpy spring to the side and emerged as the Irish’s best field goal option (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Notre Dame names six team captains for 2022 season (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Notre Dame football Week 1 at Ohio State depth chart projections: offense (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
Notre Dame Week 1 depth chart projection: defense (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Quick-hitters: Notre Dame DC Al Golden on Ohio State, defending Michael Mayer, Marist Liufau (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Quick-hitters: Notre Dame OC Tommy Rees on Tyler Buchner, Logan Diggs, Ohio State (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How Irish freshman CB Benjamin Morrison made a positive first impression in preseason camp (Patrick Engel, Blue & Gold)
Notre Dame football fall camp superlatives: MVPs, best freshmen and more (Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold)
How a ‘special side’ of Notre Dame allowed eight football players to take a May trip to Italy (Ashton Pollard, Blue & Gold)
Four-star CB Kaleb Beasley in tight contact with Notre Dame staff (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
Q&A with On3’s No. 1 tackle on Irish commitment, Harry Hiestand, more (Mike Singer, Blue & Gold)
