Stacking Up The Notre Dame Offense vs. The Ohio State Defense

The fifth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish are two days away from kicking off their season against the second-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. Our breakdown of the matchup continues with a look at how the Notre Dame offense stacks up against the Ohio State defense.

NOTRE DAME RUSH OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE

Advantage: Even

This is arguably the most intriguing on paper matchup because of how much these two units are expected to change in 2022. Neither team was very good in this area last season. Notre Dame's offense was abysmal at running the ball for chunks of the 2021 season, and even when they were doing it well it wasn't as dominant as it used to be.

The return of Harry Hiestand and the emergence of young players like Blake Fisher and Joe Alt at tackle combines with a talented backfield and a dynamic runner at quarterback to raise expectations for the Irish ground attack. That's the projection, but the offense needs to show it can actually get it done and improve dramatically on a ground attack that could do nothing in the Fiesta Bowl and ranked 83rd nationally.

Ohio State dominated inferior opponents on the ground, and its best performance of the season was shutting down Doak Walker Award winner Kenneth Walker of Michigan State (6 carries, 25 yards). That was a bit of an anomaly, as the Buckeyes largely struggled against the run in other big games. Ohio State was dominated on the ground in its two losses (269 yards vs. Oregon, 297 yards vs. Michigan), struggled to slow down Utah's run game in the bowl game (226 yards) and couldn't stop Minnesota's ground attack prior to Mohamed Ibrahim being injured (he had 163 yards in less than a full game vs. Ohio State.

The question here is which team's offseason changes will carry the day, and the answer will have a significant impact on the outcome.

NOTRE DAME PASS OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE

Advantage: Notre Dame

Notre Dame was actually a good passing team last season, at least when quarterback Jack Coan had time to throw the football. Notre Dame lost its leader in receiving yards (Kevin Austin) and Avery Davis was lost to a season-ending injury, but there are plenty of weapons returning to the Irish offense.

Sophomore Tyler Buchner steps into the starting lineup, and he'll certainly add more playmaking ability with his legs, but can he beat teams with his arm as well? We'll find that out, but Buchner has the arm talent to be a weapon in the pass game, and he'll have plenty of weapons to throw to. Tight end Michael Mayer is arguably the best player in the country at his position, and the Buckeye defense will need to make it a priority to slow him down.

Notre Dame's backs should be impact players in the pass game, and junior Chris Tyree hauled in six passes for 115 yards and a score in the Fiesta Bowl. The key for the Irish pass game is fifth-year senior Braden Lenzy and sophomore Lorenzo Styles emerging as consistent weapons on the perimeter. If they can play to their potential the Irish pass attack should be potent.

Ohio State returns Josh Proctor to the secondary and Denzel Burke now has a season of experience under his help. Both should help improve the secondary's overall talent, which was already good. The key was replacing Kerry Coombs and Matt Barnes with Jim Knowles, which should clean up the schematic challenges that resulted in the Buckeye defense struggling in a big way against the pass last fall, at least at times.

The key part of this matchup will be the Notre Dame pass blockers against the Ohio State pass rush. Ohio State was wildly inconsistent when it came to getting after the quarterback last season, but again that is partly why Knowles was hired. Jack Sawyer, JT Tuimoloau and Tyleik Williams are also now sophomores, which means they are a year older, stronger and advanced from a technical standpoint.

They'll battle Notre Dame sophomore tackles Joe Alt and Blake Fisher on the edge, but that is a matchup Notre Dame should win. The bigger challenge will be the interior battle. Either way, Notre Dame has to give Buchner time to throw, and if it can the Irish pass attack should have a good night.

NOTRE DAME SCORING OFFENSE vs. OHIO STATE SCORING DEFENSE

Advantage: Notre Dame

Yes, Ohio State should be better on defense this season after making coaching changes. What some Buckeye fans seem to miss is that Notre Dame also overhauled its offensive staff this offseason, which means both made hires designed to improve that side of the ball.

So why does Notre Dame have the advantage? Well, Notre Dame is starting off with a higher baseline and it has several personnel matchups it should have a chance to exploit. Both still have question marks that must be answered, which is always true in an opener, but right now on paper the Irish have the advantage.

Notre Dame's red zone success and third-down success compared to Ohio State's abysmal numbers in those areas is reason enough for Notre Dame to have the advantage in this department.

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