Notre Dame football score predictions: Fighting Irish at Ohio State staff picks

The wait is almost over. It’s just about time for Notre Dame and Ohio State to finally go head-to-head Saturday night in a primetime matchup at Ohio Stadium.

It’s a game that has received much fanfare over the offseason, and rightfully so. It’s not often programs of this stature and teams with such lofty expectations face off in Week 1. The attention will intensify with ESPN’s College GameDay live from Columbus Saturday morning and an entire day of anticipation leading into a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff.

Here’s what the staff at BlueandGold.com expects to happen when the ball is booted at the Horseshoe.

Tyler Horka: Ohio State 41, Notre Dame 24

Heisman Trophy favorite C.J. Stroud and his elite supporting cast will be too much for a first-time starting Irish quarterback in sophomore Tyler Buchner and a first-year Notre Dame head coach in Marcus Freeman. The Irish will struggle with a rambunctious atmosphere at the Horseshoe while the Buckeyes will let it work in their favor. It could feel closer than the score indicates, but Stroud will put the game away for good in the fourth.

There is a list of proven head coaches on the Notre Dame schedule Freeman is going to learn from the hard way. Ohio State’s Ryan Day is one of them. Many coaches have tried to take down Day during his relatively short tenure at the helm in Columbus. Only four — Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Alabama’s Nick Saban, Oregon’s Mario Cristobal and Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh — have succeeded. Day is 34-4 as a head coach.

It’s just too much to ask of a Notre Dame team with rookies at QB and head coach to go into this environment and come out with a win. At least the Irish will cover the widely talked about 17.5-point spread?

Patrick Engel: Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 24

On one hand, this might be the best time to play Ohio State as it breaks in a new defensive coordinator and before it can really get rolling. On the other, it’s a bear of a task for a first-time head coach and a sophomore quarterback making his first start to topple a top-five team on the road.

Notre Dame needs to control both lines of scrimmages to have a shot at winning. That was the weakness in Ohio State’s 11-2 season last year. The Buckeyes brought in defensive coordinator Jim Knowles and offensive line coach Justin Frye to help fix it. Even if it’s improved, the Irish have the talent up front to make it a weakness for Ohio State in this game.

That’s a must.

But it’s one of several things that have to happen for Notre Dame to pull the upset. Ohio State, meanwhile, rode its elite passing offense to 11 wins last year even with issues around it. The Irish’s secondary might well be improved from last year, but slowing the Buckeyes down through the air enough for its offense to outscore Ohio State is a lot to ask of it.

Mike Singer: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 27

Defenses are often ahead of offenses early in the season, so I do think the start of the game will be a bit slow, but there will be a lot of points in the second and third quarters. Ultimately, I think Ohio State’s passing attack will prove to be a bit too much for the Fighting Irish to overcome. There will be a lot of positives to take away for Notre Dame, and they’ll keep it close. Tyler Buchner will provide some “wow” moments — both good and bad.

I’ve never been good at game predictions, but I do feel strongly that this will be a highly entertaining game.

Todd Burlage, Ohio State 35, Notre Dame 28

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud returns after completing 71.9 percent of his passes last season (third best nationally) for 4,435 yards (fifth) with 44 touchdowns (third) and only six interceptions. Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day is 23-1 at home and 34-4 overall during his first three-plus years in Columbus.

Asking Irish sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner in his first start to beat Stroud in front of 100,000-plus rabid OSU fans is too much. Notre Dame loses but keeps it respectable with a late touchdown and stays within the beefy 17.5-point spread. 

Steve Downey: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20

The blueprint to beating the Buckeyes was demonstrated by both Oregon and Michigan last season. The Ducks rushed for 269 yards and three touchdowns in their 35-28 win, while the Wolverines racked up 297 yards and six scores on the ground in their 42-27 triumph.

However, the last time we saw the Fighting Irish they struggled to both run the ball — against a Jim Knowles-designed defense, no less, in their first outing post-Kyren Williams — and defend the pass. That would be a fatal combination in a hostile environment against the Buckeyes. Notre Dame needs an effective rushing attack to keep dynamic trio of quarterback C.J. Stroud, running back TreVeyon Henderson and wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba on the sidelines.

The Irish will battle but fall short of their first road win versus a top-five team in 17 years.