Notre Dame Opponent First Glance: Ohio State Buckeyes

Notre Dame kicks off its 2022 season with very high expectations, and the Fighting Irish will be challenged immediately. Notre Dame and first year head coach Marcus Freeman will go on the road to take on No. 2 Ohio State to start the season.

Game Date: Saturday, September 3
Start Time: 7:30 PM ET
Network: ABC
Current Line: Ohio State -17.5, O/U 58.5

As we kick off our coverage of this matchup and our focus on the Buckeyes, let's take a first glance look at Ohio State.

HEAD COACH - Ryan Day, 4th season

Ohio State Record: 34-4

Day's overall record includes three 2018 wins when he replaced Urban Meyer, who was placed on administrative leave to start that season. Day was Ohio State's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2017 and 2018 prior to taking over the top spot in 2019.

Prior to coming to Ohio State, Day spent two seasons in the NFL as the quarterbacks coach for the San Francisco 49ers (2016) and Philadelphia Eagles (2015) as an assistant coach to Chip Kelly.

Day has developed a much-deserved reputation as an outstanding developer of offenses and quarterbacks. Three of Ohio State's four best single-season passing marks were set during Day's tenure as either the quarterbacks coach or head coach, and that number would have been greater without Ohio State being limited to just eight games in 2020. Two of Day's Buckeye quarterbacks have been selected in the first round (Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields).

The New Hampshire native led Ohio State to back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances in his first two seasons, with the Buckeyes going 13-1 in 2019 and 7-1 in 2020. Ohio State went 11-2 and won the Rose Bowl with a 48-45 victory over Utah last season.

Offensive Coordinator: Kevin Wilson, 6th season
Defensive Coordinator: Jim Knowles, 1st season

2021 RESULTS (11-2 overall / 8-1 Big Ten)

at Minnesota - Won 45-31
Oregon - Lost 35-28
Tulsa - Won 41-20
Akron - Won 59-7
at Rutgers - Won 52-13
Maryland - Won 66-17
at Indiana - Won 54-7
Penn State - Won 33-24
at Nebraska - Won 26-17
Purdue - Won 59-31
Michigan State - Won 56-7
at Michigan - Lost 42-27
vs. Utah - Won 48-45

2021 STATISTICAL OVERVIEW

2021 STATISTICAL LEADERS

Rushing: RB TreVeyon Henderson - 184 att., 1,255 yards, 6.8 YPC, 15 TD; RB Miyan Williams - 71 att., 507 yards, 7.1 YPC, 3 TD

Passing: QB CJ Stroud - 317 com., 441 att., 71.9%, 4,435 yards, 44 TD, 6 INT, 186.56 rating; QB Kyle McCord - 25 com., 38 att., 65.8%, 416 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 164.58 rating

Receiving: WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba - 95 rec., 1,606 yards, 16.9 YPC, 9 TD; RB TreVeyon Henderson - 27 rec., 312 yards, 11.6 YPC, 4 TD; WR Marvin Harrison Jr. - 11 rec., 139 yards, 12.6 YPC 3 TD; WR Emeka Egbuka - 9 rec., 191 yards, 21.2 YPC, 0 TD; WR Julian Fleming - 12 rec., 86 yards, 7.2 YPC, 1 TD

Tackles: S Ronnie Hickman - 98; LB Tommy Eichenberg - 64; LB Cody Simon - 54; LB Steele Chambers - 45; LB Teradja Mitchell - 45; S Lathan Ransom - 38; CB Denzel Burke - 37; DE Zach Harrison - 33

Tackles For Loss: DE Zach Harrison - 7.0; DT Tyleik Williams - 6.5; LB Tommy Eichenberg - 6.5; LB Steele Chambers - 5.0; DE JT Tuimoloau - 4.5; LB Teradja Mitchell - 4.5; DT Jerron Cage - 4.0; S Kourt Williams - 4.0

Sacks: DT Tyleik Williams - 5.0; DE Jack Sawyer - 3.0; DE Zach Harrison - 3.0; DE JT Tuimoloau - 2.5; DT Ty Hamilton - 2.0

Interceptions: S Ronnie Hickman - 2; six players tied with 1

Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge

Irish Breakdown Content

Notre Dame 2022 Roster
Notre Dame 2022 Schedule

Notre Dame 2023 Class Big Board
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Offense
Notre Dame 2023 Commits Board - Defense

Notre Dame 2023 Scholarship Offers
Notre Dame 2024 Scholarship Offers

Ranking The 2022 Signees - Offense
Ranking The 2022 Signees - Defense

———————

Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.

BECOME A MEMBER

Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!

Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Follow me on Gettr: @IrishBreakdown
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook

Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter