Notre Dame football score predictions: Irish vs. Buckeyes national championship staff picks

ATLANTA — It’s national championship eve. The No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish (14-1) play the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes (13-2) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday at 7:30 p.m. E.T. Five Blue & Gold staff members made score predictions for the game.

Here they are.

Tyler Horka: Notre Dame 28, Ohio State 24

I don’t like Notre Dame’s ability to get into a shootout against Ohio State and live to tell about it, but if the Fighting Irish defense keeps this game in the 20s then a path to victory is in plain sight. That side of the ball will need to make some plays against an offense as talented as Ohio State’s. Heck, the Irish defense needed game-altering plays to beat Penn State in the Orange Bowl. This’ll be no different, and, if anything, it’ll be even more imperative.

Be it Christian Gray or Leonard Moore or Xavier Watts on the back end or someone from the front seven, there will be a defensive standout that enables Notre Dame to win its first national championship since 1988. On that note — how’s Notre Dame going to score 28 points on an Ohio State defense that’s only allowed 20-plus to one team, Oregon, all season? Defensive or special teams score, just like in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

Jack Soble: Ohio State 24, Notre Dame 20

Before you bring out the pitchforks, just know that in 28 games so far on the beat, the Irish are 3-0 when I pick against them. So, in a way, you’re welcome.

There’s a path for Notre Dame to win this game. The Irish have to turn it into a grind-it-out slugfest that comes down to who can be the tougher and more physical team. If this becomes a track meet, they have no chance against the immensely talented Buckeyes. But if Notre Dame slows it down and plays this game on its own terms, I think the Irish have a shot.

This will be another classic, but ultimately, Ohio State is throwing the ball too well right now to lose a game. A special Irish season ends just short of immortality.

Kyle Kelly: Notre Dame 27, Ohio State 26

How can you pick against this team? It’s clear that something magical in South Bend is happening this season and the only way for it to end would be with Notre Dame ending its national championship drought in historic fashion.

The Irish haven’t beaten the Buckeyes since 1936. They’ve had their chances but just haven’t been able to get to done. No matter how unbeatable the Buckeyes have looked this postseason, I just don’t have it in me to pick them against Notre Dame. Give me the Irish by one — just enough to bring the national championship trophy back to South Bend for the first time in 37 years.

Todd D. Burlage: Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 24

This isn’t necessarily a longstanding rivalry, but there is some recent history brewing between Notre Dame and Ohio State. These two blue bloods played a home-and-home series in 2022-23, with the Buckeyes winning both hard-fought games — 21-10 in ’22 and 17-14 in ’23. So, here they are, ready to meet for a third straight season.

Notre Dame (14-1) has made it to the title game with a solid run game on offense that ranks 14th nationally at 210.7 yards per game and an opportunistic defense that forced 32 turnovers and parlayed those takeaways into 151 points, easily the best mark in the nation. The Irish are also tied for the national lead with 6 defensive touchdowns.

Ohio State (13-2) counters with a stingy defense of its own that allowed only 12.1 points a game — the nation’s best mark — before the CFP semifinal against Texas. Playing as well as any team in the country, the Buckeyes make good on their fourth playoff appearance in the last six seasons and win their ninth national championship.

Steve Downey: Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 20

Reports of the Buckeyes’ demise were greatly exaggerated, it seems. It was easy to dismiss their national title hopes after that demoralizing 13-10 defeat at the hands of an inferior Michigan team in their regular-season finale. As it turns out, we have the Wolverines to thank for awakening a sleeping giant that was once thought to be the best team that money could buy.

Spurred on by the motivation of erasing that embarrassing setback to Michigan — much in the same way the Irish did with their loss to Northern Illinois Sept. 7 — Ohio State has strung together three impressive playoff victories to reach college football’s biggest stage. Notre Dame has been impressive in its own right, but in a much different way, grinding out victories over Indiana, Georgia and Penn State.

However, with freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith transforming into Julio Jones 2.0 in front of our eyes during the CFP, I believe the Buckeyes have too much firepower for the Irish to overcome. It was a great run, but one that will fall one game short of a national title.