Sept 3 | Ohio State

[Jimmy3Putt]

It's not that OSU will be great on defense, but they have elite talent to play with so they *might* be good. It's that Notre Dame's quarterback play is a HUGE variable and the same shortcomings of previous years are still here: lack of interior run game (Patterson being hurt doesn't help) and a WR corp that cannot get separation.

I pulled the 31-3 out of my ass as a reference to the Clemson playoff game wherein the Irish were beat 30-3. Is Ohio State's defense Clemson good? Hell no. But I think the Notre Dame offense could be ranked around 50ish if Buchner doesn't show significant passing improvement from his true freshman campaign.

Everyone wants to say Knowles won't turn it around immediately... but are we to forget that Notre Dame was 79th in rushing ypg last season?

I'm a Doubting Thomas for Notre Dame's offense until proven otherwise. I think OSU can guard WRs one-on-one well enough to blitz Buchner and/or stack the box. It's pretty obvious that Rees has to get the TEs and RBs split out so much to take pressure off of this inevitable defensive mindset. But great, you've split Mayer and RBs out, can Buchner actually go through his reads under the pressure they will bring? It's just a lot to ask and I would not be surprised if they fell flat on their face week one.

If they play man to stack the box, Tyler will run it up their backside.

 

[Irish#1]

It's not that OSU will be great on defense, but they have elite talent to play with so they *might* be good. It's that Notre Dame's quarterback play is a HUGE variable and the same shortcomings of previous years are still here: lack of interior run game (Patterson being hurt doesn't help) and a WR corp that cannot get separation.

I pulled the 31-3 out of my ass as a reference to the Clemson playoff game wherein the Irish were beat 30-3. Is Ohio State's defense Clemson good? Hell no. But I think the Notre Dame offense could be ranked around 50ish if Buchner doesn't show significant passing improvement from his true freshman campaign.

Everyone wants to say Knowles won't turn it around immediately... but are we to forget that Notre Dame was 79th in rushing ypg last season?

I'm a Doubting Thomas for Notre Dame's offense until proven otherwise. I think OSU can guard WRs one-on-one well enough to blitz Buchner and/or stack the box. It's pretty obvious that Rees has to get the TEs and RBs split out so much to take pressure off of this inevitable defensive mindset. But great, you've split Mayer and RBs out, can Buchner actually go through his reads under the pressure they will bring? It's just a lot to ask and I would not be surprised if they fell flat on their face week one.

 

[Jimmy3Putt]

Stack the box and play man outside.
Tyler will gash them with his legs if his first read is covered.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

I’m thankful we have OSU in week 1 vs like week 8. OSU definitely has some areas ND can exploit. I am fairly surprised that the line is approaching 16 pts. That seems a little crazy to me. Nonetheless, I think the ND upset comes down to 3 areas:

1. Our Dline has to be dominant with 4 man pressures and make life hell for Stroud. Then of course the back end has to play their part and not get smoked. I actually think ND can pull this off. I believe they’ll get pressure and live in tOSUs backfield.

2. Buckner has to be above a game manager. The Ian Book/Jack Coan QB play won’t cut it. Buckner needs to take shots but also protect the football while keeping tOSU off balance with his arm and legs. This is my big question mark where I’m most uneasy and have my doubts. A few untimely turnovers and this game can we lost very quickly. But we’ll see if the kid has the “it” factor we haven’t had behind center in a long time.

3. Establish and control the line of scrimmage and run the ball. I think we’ll be able to run the ball. But for this to be effective we can’t get down 2 scores in the first quarter.

I’m betting the moneyline and taking ND but for fun…I’ll say ND 34 tOSU 30.

 

[T Town Tommy]

Give me about six sustained Irish offensive drives that take between 5-7 minutes each. The Buckeyes red zone defense was horrible last year so hopefully those long, sustained drives result in 3-4 tds. First team to 30 wins.

 

[Irish#1]

2. Buckner has to be above a game manager. The

The thing that separates TB from Coan and Book is he has a balls to the wall attitude. He’ll do what it takes to win.

 

[tommyIRISH23]

The thing that separates TB from Coan and Book is he has a balls to the wall attitude. He’ll do what it takes to win.

Seems that way. And he has the physical tools. We just have to see if he puts it all together….and fast haha

 

[tommyIRISH23]

If they play man to stack the box, Tyler will run it up their backside.

Yeah man and stacking the box would be a blessing. I’m more worried about disguised coverages..etc he’ll have to process for the first time.

Regardless I’m pumped. I’ve got a sneaky good feeling about this game

 

[PANDFAN]

I'm all on the hype train like every year but I'm in the show me phase... And then I'll believe... Obviously want a win but I just want to see intensity and the moment not being to big... That's what kills me when watching big games

 

[Irish#1]

For those that think we will get rolled by OSU, I have a question.

Do you think this ND team is better than scUM or Oregon were last year?

 

[arrowryan]

For those that think we will get rolled by OSU, I have a question.

Do you think this ND team is better than scUM or Oregon were last year?

Better than Oregon. 2021 Michigan was a playoff team, 2022 Notre Dame probably is not.

 

[TNUtoNotreDame]

For those that think we will get rolled by OSU, I have a question.

Do you think this ND team is better than scUM or Oregon were last year?

Really doesn't matter better or not, we should never get embarrassed ( like we usually do). Something happens to us in big games and 9 times out of 10 we embarrass ourselves. It is exhausting knowing that we're likely headed for a beat down and Purdue or some other tier 3 team play them they will keep it close.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Anthony Brown, Cade McNamara, Cam Rising. The last 3 QBs to put up 35+ on OSU. I get Knowles will have a positive impact, I don’t quite get the sense that OSU can just decide to be good on D.

Scoring 3 points? That’s borderline insulting to suggest that’s more likely than a W.

Agreed. Brown was never elite but in the tOSU he was extremely efficient and (probably most important) he never turned the ball over. Most his passes completed were crossers. I don’t recall many downfield throws. He was always a run first QB at BC & UO but again…he protected the ball & made good decisions. His reps as starter at BC had to help experience-wise. I don’t think he started until the post-season at UO. Then he came back as a 6th year player due to COVID.

What I hope to see on offense is Rees being a run heavy OC. Think back to the OL ND had in the first matchup vs UGA. That’s a perfect example of not utilizing your strengths to the fullest. Especially considering Wimbush was a run first QB by that time. Yet Josh Adams had less than 20 carries while Wimbush passed 40 times (at a 50% clip). That can’t happen vs tOSU b/c the ND defense isn’t playing a true freshman, first time starter at QB like they were back in 2017.

 

[IRISHDODGER]

Really doesn't matter better or not, we should never get embarrassed ( like we usually do). Something happens to us in big games and 9 times out of 10 we embarrass ourselves. It is exhausting knowing that we're likely headed for a beat down and Purdue or some other tier 3 team play them they will keep it close.

You’re right but look at it from the opponent’s perspective. Is tOSU going to get jacked up to play some also-ran B1G opponent that they play (& usually dominate) every year…or Notre Dame who is a historical name that guarantees more people will watch & the players know they can’t afford to be off their game or they’ll get beat on national tv. I’m sure some of the fans of opponents ND dominated in recent year kept looking at the Toledo or Ball St game to justify why their team should beat or at least compete w/ ND.

 

[InKellyWeTrust]

The floor and ceiling for Buchner is about as wide as I could imagine for this one

 

[Ndaccountant]

The floor and ceiling for Buchner is about as wide as I could imagine for this one

He is very similar to Wimbush in that regard.

 

[Ndaccountant]

For those that think we will get rolled by OSU, I have a question.

Do you think this ND team is better than scUM or Oregon were last year?

I see it this way.. OSU has an advantage on offense. ND has the advantage on defense. OSU advantage is >>>>>than ND advantage. Over recent CFB history, the better offense wins unless the defense is near historical. I think ND offense will be too inconsistent in this one. Only thing that could change that is if ND dominates the ground game. It's certainly possible, but I'm not sure its likely.

 

[ThePiombino]

I see it this way.. OSU has an advantage on offense. ND has the advantage on defense. OSU advantage is >>>>>than ND advantage. Over recent CFB history, the better offense wins unless the defense is near historical. I think ND offense will be too inconsistent in this one. Only thing that could change that is if ND dominates the ground game. It's certainly possible, but I'm not sure its likely.

The equalizer here is that ND's Dline could neutralize a good part of OSU's advantage...

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[NDFAN2008]

I don’t think people realize how much Ohio State will struggle trying to defend the run plus meyer and Styles

 

[IHateMarkMay]

The equalizer here is that ND's Dline could neutralize a good part of OSU's advantage...

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Our DLine can cover wide receivers?

All kidding aside, I hope our DLine can get enough pressure on Stroud to force errant throws.

 

[Whiskeyjack]

The equalizer here is that ND's Dline could neutralize a good part of OSU's advantage...

Yes. We're better in the trenches, which is the hardest disadvantage to overcome. We naturally focus on QB and WR because that's been our disadvantage in the postseason recently, but those skill players can't do much if the QB is running for his life and Estime is averaging 5 YPC.

But their OFEI was 2.08 last year, which means they had--by far--the most efficient offense in the nation. So if we aren't regularly pressuring Stroud with 4 DL and/or our RBs are getting hit behind the LOS, then we're totally screwed.

 

[NDFAN2008]

I think you’ll also see ND get tricky with mutiple TE’s on the field

 

[FightingIrishLover7]

I think you’ll also see ND get tricky with mutiple TE’s on the field

Notre Dame? Multiple tight ends? Never

 

[condoms SUCk]

Multipl;e TE's in a dimond formation (someone suggested earlier)...OSU calls TO...ND shows the formation again against a heaver OSU D...ND calls an autible and spreads the formation out. Rinse and reapeat..

 

[Irish#1]

You’re right but look at it from the opponent’s perspective. Is tOSU going to get jacked up to play some also-ran B1G opponent that they play (& usually dominate) every year…or Notre Dame who is a historical name that guarantees more people will watch & the players know they can’t afford to be off their game or they’ll get beat on national tv. I’m sure some of the fans of opponents ND dominated in recent year kept looking at the Toledo or Ball St game to justify why their team should beat or at least compete w/ ND.

Really doesn't matter better or not, we should never get embarrassed ( like we usually do). Something happens to us in big games and 9 times out of 10 we embarrass ourselves. It is exhausting knowing that we're likely headed for a beat down and Purdue or some other tier 3 team play them they will keep it close.

Good points, but we have a new captain steering the ship. Kelly had the team punching the clock like it was the same job week in and week out. I can't imagine that MFMF is treating this like any other game.

 

[stlnd01]

I feel like this is going to be like most of our other games against elite teams in recent years, where our lines and short passing game are good enough to keep us in it but they’re capable of breaking big plays to score quick and we’re not.

Which is not to say we can’t win. We can if we keep their offense off the field with long drives that result in touchdowns. Turnovers would help and maybe our front seven can create enough havoc to make that happen. But it’s Game 1 for both teams so there’s a lot of unanswered questions, and more on our side than theirs.

Objectively, it’s hard to pick us to win, though also 16-17 points is an insulting spread. A huge spread for a game between Top Five teams. I’d guess they win by a touchdown or so.

 

[Some Irish Bloke]

Hoping this game is a coming out party for Marist Liafau. I feel like outside of our program, he's an unknown commodity. I could see him playing a major role in disrupting that offense.

We're going to need to score 30 points to win this game. Hope they start the game with a heavy dose of Audric Estime pounding away at their defense, and then start mixing in some play action to get TB going.

 

[NorthDakota]

Hoping this game is a coming out party for Marist Liafau. I feel like outside of our program, he's an unknown commodity. I could see him playing a major role in disrupting that offense.

We're going to need to score 30 points to win this game. Hope they start the game with a heavy dose of Audric Estime pounding away at their defense, and then start mixing in some play action to get TB going.

If ND gets 30 points i feel pretty good. If we get 35, I think its a W

 

[Irish#1]

Hoping this game is a coming out party for Marist Liafau. I feel like outside of our program, he's an unknown commodity. I could see him playing a major role in disrupting that offense.

We're going to need to score 30 points to win this game. Hope they start the game with a heavy dose of Audric Estime pounding away at their defense, and then start mixing in some play action to get TB going.

I would love to open with a 6-7 minute drive that ends in a TD, regardless of what they do. Seems like with a new QB and a history of RTDB that will be the game plan, but now that Kelly isn't here, we might be surprised. We might open with a Kizer to Fuller bomb.

 

[ulukinatme]

We didn't face any offenses as strong as tOSU's last season. It's going to be very difficult for our defense to slow them down. On the flip side we should be improved on offense (I hope) with a more stable OL, Mayer, and the emergence of Styles. Our RBs should still be strong as a group. The question mark is Buchner. I think it's asking too much for an upset this early, but I'd love to see it all the same. tOSU has more talent at skill positions, that will probably be the difference late.