Notre Dame Is Well Aware Of The Challenges That Ohio State Presents

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and his players know they have a battle on their hands when they head to Ohio State

You’re not alone if you’ve already have a little different feeling about Notre Dame's season opener this week. One of the most anticipated Notre Dame football season openers is, finally, less than a week away.

Your neighbor’s excited, your kids are excited. Heck, your dog probably even has a different giddyup this week. And who can blame them? Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman shares their excitement for his team’s venture into hostile territory to play Ohio State.

"Any competitor wants this,” Freeman said during his season opening press conference. "You want an opportunity to go and play against the best and see, there's no better way to see where we're at as a football team than to go and say, 'Okay, let's go play one of the best teams in the country and let's see where we're at.' So, we're excited.”

The Buckeyes have been one of the most consistent college programs in the nation for the better part of the last two decades. They’ve won at least 10 games in all but one non-Covid 19 shortened season since 2005. The exception was the 6-7 campaign in 2011 in the bridge season between Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer. Ohio State's last three-loss season was in 2008, when Tressel was still head coach.

Led by quarterback CJ Stroud, Ohio State boasted the No. 2 pass efficiency offense in the nation in 2021. Stroud threw for 4,435 yards with 44 touchdowns and just six interceptions as a first-year starter. Freeman knows how dangerous the Buckeye offense can be, but he also believes the first key to slowing it down is by stopping their run game.

“If you don’t stop the run, they’ll run it all day long,” Freeman explained. “So, the ability to stop the run is most important. Then, yeah, we know they’re very talented in throwing the ball. But it’s the mindset, if you can’t stop the run they can throw it, they can run it, they can do whatever they want to do and we have to be able to stop the run.”

Sophomore running back TreVeyon Henderson makes the Buckeye run game go. He cranked out 1,248 yards on the ground on 183 carries (6.8) with 15 touchdowns last fall as a true freshman.

Freeman believes that slowing him down will give the Irish defense a better chance to deal with Stroud’s top receiving targets Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Marvin Harrison Jr.

Smith-Njigba was the Buckeyes’ leading receiver a year ago with 95 receptions for 1,606 yards. That’s saying something, considering Ohio State sent fellow receivers Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave to the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. Those two are just the front end of a deep receiving corps that Al Golden’s first defense is charged to defend.

“Those guys can rotate guys in and can just take the top off a defense and so we have to have the ability to rotate guys,” Freeman said.

Freeman plans to rotate his secondary to both keep them fresh and keep up with OSU’s receivers. Veterans Cam Hart, TaRiq Bracy and Clarence Lewis will all see extensive time, with freshmen Jaden Mickey and Benjamin Morrison expected to see time as well.

Notre Dame’s offense will see a familiar looking defense when they take the field. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was hired from Oklahoma State prior to the Fiesta Bowl at the end of last season.

“We did get a good chance to look at what a Jim Knowles defense would be like, but, do I expect it to be the exact same? No,” Freeman noted. “Because to me, my opinion, (with) any coordinator it’s still based around the talent you have, right? It’s based around your personnel. You're not going to come in here and draw up a book and say ‘This our defense, this is our offense, you guys fit it’. No, for me that’s not the way to do it.

“We’re not a hundred percent (sure) what we’ll get out of Ohio State’s defense,” Freeman continued. “I think we have an idea, just looking at Oklahoma State, and then we’ve got to study their personnel and then we’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust to what we see in the game.”

The Irish are a completely different offensive team now, compared to that Jan. 1 game against the Cowboys. They have a more veteran line that is now led by one of the top college line coaches in the country, Harry Hiestand.

Last year’s team was one dimensional because of an inconsistent running game that started with an inexperienced line. Freeman believes the key to making the offense go starts on the ground.

“Having a run game offensively opens up so many different options in terms of pass in terms of other things offensively,” Freeman stated. “I think we have to have the ability to establish a run game.”

New starting quarterback Tyler Buchner also brings another element of what the Irish lacked when he wasn’t on the field last season. He was the team’s second leading rusher with 336 yards on just 46 carries as Notre Dame’s “package quarterback” - a change of pace to Jack Coan’s pocket heavy presence.

Buchner won’t just be a runner though. He has shown through fall camp that he is a much-improved passer, and he will have to be that Saturday night if the Irish are to have any chance at an upset.

But Buchner’s presence on the field gives the offense an element they never had when Coan was on the field last season – the ever present threat that Buchner might pull the ball and run on a read option play.

For now, the possibilities are limitless. Saturday night is almost here. 

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