You don't think OSU's offensive line was better than ND's last year?
On a player for player basis??? One word. Simply. NO.
A good start for my logic is that Taylor Decker would have never started at left tackle at ND. Not last year, not the year before. Never.
So ND went from Martin and Watt on the left side to Stanley and Martin/Hegarty. Now with Martin healthy, do you see OSU bleeding off previous starters like Hegarty. A big difference between ND and OSU is the
second team. ND clearly wins the depth argument.
A big deal has been made of the shuffling along the offensive line last year. ND's little toils and strains have more to do with offensive design and blocking schemes. OSU's jobs for O-linemen have been simpler. That is neither good or bad. It just is (the way it is).
So when I make my statement about the quality of ND's offensive line, player by player, I don't see a unit like OSU's as better. They were luckier with their injury situation. For example Nick Martin's hand/finger had a profound affect on the ND unit's play last year.
Also, OSU had much better (it appears) coached and integrated play from running backs and quarterbacks, as well as having an offense that favored line production. It will be interesting to see the progress and integration of OSU's running backs this year . . .
Another thing : I am really getting the idea that Kelly has been reigned in by Swarbrick and Jenkins. I think there are profound changes (that have been mandated) under the surface, that will make a huge performance difference for both offensive and defensive units.
Linking this post back to the thread, I think this is why Liam picks ND. In Kelly's presser yesterday he talked about the number of freshmen coming on campus this summer that are going to push upperclassmen for playing time. It isn't just lip service to say there is much more competition for position playing time at ND. That is why the ridiculous ratings of the ND offensive linemen class by class, especially since Harry has been here make a difference. ND has the highest rated linemen as a group of any school in the nation. With the hat-trick that Harry is going for this year, nothing will change.
Yes I strongly feel ND can say their offensive line is as good, player for player as OSU's is; maybe even better. How the overall team performs is a different question.