Notre Dame football

Saturday night of Week 1 is highlighted by a top-five matchup between the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame's four selections were offensive lineman [Jarrett Patterson](/college-football/players/2969036/jarrett-patterson/) (first team), defensive back [Brandon Joseph](/college-football/players/3124732/brandon-joseph/) (first team), tight end [Michael Mayer](/college-football/players/3171673/michael-mayer/) (second team) and defensive lineman Isaiah Foskey (second team). The first challenge for Knowles will be a bit of an unknown, however, as the Buckeyes face a new starting quarterback in [Tyler Buchner](/college-football/players/26698489/tyler-buchner/). In a vacuum or a simulation, Ohio State wins this game by 20 points, but college football is played by humans and the stage is too big to think there will be a blowout on Saturday night. A blue-chip prospect coming out of high school in California, Buchner saw some limited action as a freshman for the Irish in 2021 as part of a three-quarterback shuffle with Jack Coan and [Drew Pyne](/college-football/players/3161529/drew-pyne/). Stroud](/college-football/players/3163079/c-j-stroud/) is the preseason favorite to win the award in 2022, and fair or not his performance in this game will have a lasting impact for many Heisman voters. Ultimately, Ohio State is the markedly better team and will win, but this game is interesting just long enough for the Fighting Irish to cover the number. That's not ideal considering Freeman had plenty of success as a defensive coordinator before his promotion to head coach, and the fact that Notre Dame might have a top-15 -- or even top-10 -- unit this season, led by a defensive lineman in [Isaiah Foskey](/college-football/players/3136890/isaiah-foskey/). 5 [Notre Dame](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/ND/notre-dame-fighting-irish/) on Saturday. [Ohio State](https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/teams/OHIOST/ohio-state-buckeyes/) playing host to No. Ohio State's defense: One of the most-discussed coaching moves of the offseason wasn't even at the head coaching level. When they do meet it's almost always a big deal, with Saturday night marking the fourth consecutive meeting with both teams ranked in the top 10 of the polls. With just seven all-time meetings, Ohio State and Notre Dame have not met nearly as often as you might think considered their respective standing as college football blue bloods.

Ohio State came away with the win over Notre Dame in Week 1 of the college football schedule.

1 offense in college football on the road. In the first quarter, C.J. 2 team in the AP top 25 college football rankings and Notre Dame the No.

Ending the first Saturday full of college football with a top-five matchup? Yes, please. That's what's on tap on Saturday, as No. 2 Ohio State hosts No.

Tack on 15 yards for a penalty, and Notre Dame is out at Ohio State's 16. Third-and-9 for Notre Dame at the 15. Notre Dame scoring play: Notre Dame is on the board with a 33-yard field goal. Ohio State scoring play: Egbuka catches a short pass behind the corner, and takes it to the end zone for a touchdown. Notre Dame scoring play: Estime leaps over the pile for a Notre Dame touchdown after the timeout. 8:49 p.m.: Buchner throws his first incompletion of the game, and it brings up a 4th and three for the Fighting Irish at their own 28. Notre Dame first down up to the Ohio State 35. 9:01 p.m.: Henderson rushes up the middle for four yards. The chop block moves them back 15 yards to make it a 2nd and 21 at the Notre Dame 34. Buckeyes now have a 3rd and 11 at the Notre Dame 24. 10:29 p.m.: Stroud finds Harrison on the outside for a short gain of four. Ohio State is driving, now up to the Notre Dame 34.

C.J. Stroud threw two touchdown passes and Ohio State's revamped defense gave its vaunted offense time to find its groove as the second-ranked Buckeyes beat ...

With the NFL season a week away, former Buckeyes Justin Fields and Chase Young were in attendance, too. “And for him to come in and play in that moment in this game right here, I just couldn’t be happier for him. Notre Dame: Buchner completed his first eight passes and then went 2 for 10 the rest of the way. On a third-and-long, Notre Dame brought multiple blitzers and Ohio State gave Stroud plenty of time to find Xavier Johnson open down the vacated deep middle for a 24-yard score. That’s how it went to the half. The first regular-season meeting of the storied programs since 1996 was a homecoming for first-year Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman. Ohio State: Smith-Njigba, last seen setting Rose Bowl records, finished with two catches for 3 yards. I thought the energy was off the charts for the defence tonight,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. And Day seemed thrilled to see his team endure. On its next drive, Ohio State asserted itself. 5 team in the country … COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — With its vaunted offence bogged down, No.

Instead, he will begin the task of revamping a Tigers team that just three years ago enjoyed arguably one of the greatest college football seasons of all time ...

No. 4 Notre Dame 24, No. 8 Florida State 31, No. 5 Oregon State 41, No. 4 Ohio State 34, No. 4 LSU 41, No. 2 Alabama 42, No. 7 Ohio State 44, No. 2 Clemson 30, No. 1 Alabama 31, No. 9 Oklahoma State 37, No. He collected win No.

Getting a road matchup against Ohio State in the opener isn't ideal, but it was a chance for Notre Dame football to make a statement.

Ohio State was coming into the game with a Heisman frontrunner, arguably the best receiver in the country, and a Doak Walker-caliber running back. The Irish held an explosive Ohio State team to just 21 points and fewer than 400 yards on the road. For a half, it looked like Notre Dame football was going to pull off an upset and shock Ohio State in Columbus.

Position: Offensive coordinator/tight ends. Last stop: Cincinnati (2017-21). Years as college coach: 30th. Gameday location: Press box.

[Rivals.com](http://Rivals.com) recruiter of the year in 2011. ... He recruited or coached four LSU running backs who earned All-SEC honors. ... Prior to that, he was a highly successful coach at De Smet Jesuit High in Creve Coeur, Missouri, leading his team to a state title in 2019 and a runner-up finish in 2020 before going to the NFL. Need to know: Spent nine seasons on the Louisiana Tech staff, the past three as co-offensive coordinator (2019) and offensive coordinator (2020-21). Need to know: New Orleans native returns home after helping Georgia win the CFP title last January. Need to know: After playing for Kelly at Central Michigan, Flint worked on his former coach's staff at Notre Dame for 12 seasons and was co-director of athletic development the past five seasons. ... Has coached 15 all-conference linemen. ... Was the defensive backs coach and co-defensive coordinator for two seasons during his first stint when the unit ranked among the nation's best against the pass. Need to know: Has six seasons of experience as a Division I defensive coordinator, including three in the SEC at Kentucky (2016-18) before helping the Chiefs make back-to-back Super Bowl appearances. ... He also coached three seasons at FCS powerhouse North Dakota State, winning national titles in 2014 and 2015. Gameday location: Sideline ... In their time together, the duo has won 115 games.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes XX-XX on Saturday in their season o.

The Irish put way too much pressure on their defense. After an underwhelming start to the season, fans expressed their frustrations with the Fighting Irish offense and play calling on social media. I get playing complementary football, but Notre Dame's offense has been too conservative tonight.

Ohio State's 21-10 win over Notre Dame on Saturday wasn't pretty, but Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said he hopes it's the type of victory that will "pay off down ...

It was all for the team and the glory of God. The Irish were able to do that in the first quarter, but they finished with only 3 of 13 third-down conversions. "It's been a huge emphasis to win this way," Day said. 6 in large part because of the offensive firepower returning from a team that led the nation in scoring and yards per play last year. 5 [Notre Dame](/college-football/team/_/id/87/notre-dame-fighting-irish) on Saturday night, and in spite of the sluggish offense, he got something else he was looking for. Last year, Ohio State averaged 27.2 points in the first half, the most of any team in the FBS. Stroud](https://www.espn.com/college-football/player/_/id/4432577/cj-stroud), who completed 24 of 34 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns. The Buckeyes had seven Saturday night. "It's kind of weird being out there again, to be honest, seeing the fans, dealing with all of the outside noise, just trying to lock in." Ohio State, which won games last season by an average margin of 29.1 points, was held scoreless in the second quarter and trailed 10-7 at the half. Ohio State entered this season as the No. And you have to figure out based on who you're going against, how do you want to win that game?

Breaking down the important observations of the Fighting Irish defense from its loss to Ohio State.

There are two ways to look at my next statement, and that is that outside of Joseph the Notre Dame stars on defense did not play like stars last night. The secondary had a few too many missed tackles and the linebackers took questionable angles for much of the night and wasn’t overly impactful on the ball. A case could be made that junior Rylie Mills was the best lineman for the Irish last night, with Mills producing multiple edge pressures, and he was solid on the edge against the run. There were some bright spots, but overall the line wasn’t nearly as effective as it needed to be in a game of this magnitude. On top of earning a sack early in the game, Cross was one of the more disruptive front players for the Irish. Notre Dame managed just two tackles for loss and one sack in the game, and while they flushed Stroud at times they didn’t get enough consistent pressure on him. The secondary was the primary reason for this success. The one black eye was the clear miscommunication on Ohio State’s first touchdown of the second half, which will need to be addressed. Notre Dame did all that without much of a pass rush, which is the one thing we thought the Irish would have against the Buckeyes. Notre Dame’s game plan against the run was quite good early, and the Irish were able to balance slowing down the ground attack while also being in position to handle the perimeter pass. Notre Dame held Ohio State to its lowest point total since 2018 and its lowest yardage total and yards per play average since the national title game against Alabama back in 2020. He was also going up against Ryan Day, who is considered one of the best play callers in college football.

It wasn't the fairy-tale ending that Fighting Irish fans had hoped for in head coach Marcus Freeman's regular-season debut. Still, No. 5 Notre Dame put up quite ...

He put the Irish in a position to win the game. They were expected to score in or around the 40s, but the Irish defense prevented that. It’s wise to buy all of the Buchner stock you can right now. The D-line was really the main reason for optimism with this defense, and they showed up big time against Ohio State. Again, in his first big-time start for the Irish, Buchner completed eight straight passes and looked calm, cool, and collected doing it. The Irish O-line received a lot of hype ahead of the opening game, but they performed well below expectations. That was much lower than what many experts projected, especially given the depth and firepower that the Buckeyes possessed. The chinks in their armor need to be quickly fixed if the o-line will give the rest of the offense a chance to really shine. On Saturday, Estime saw action for the first time in his career. Chris Tyree led the team in rushing yards with 28, which was just not nearly high enough for a team that believed they could upset the Buckeyes on the road. Notre Dame’s defense came up big against what may be the nation’s greatest offense in Ohio State. Notre Dame football is known for having a strong run game.

Fighting Irish hang tough with Buckeyes but second-half adjustments play a critical role in 21-10 loss in Columbus.

In both of those two games, the opponent kept Notre Dame scoreless in the third quarter, bounced back offensively after a subpar first half, reclaimed the lead, and went on to secure the win. The issue for Notre Dame going forward lies in its ability to make those same adjustments, as Freeman and his staff were largely outdueled by Day and his sideline in the second half. But credit the Ohio State coaching staff for making the right changes on both offense and defense to revitalize its game plan while quenching any hope that Notre Dame had for a win. Likewise, the Notre Dame rushing attack that managed just 53 yards in the first half mustered less than half of that in the second half, tallying just 23 yards on 12 rushes for less than two yards per attempt in the final 30 minutes. The Buckeyes regained the lead — and momentum — on a critical 10-play scoring drive of their own that was capped off in the final minute of the third quarter. After Buchner completed his first eight passes of the night for 128 yards, he connected on just two of his final 10 attempts for 49 more yards. The Buckeyes nearly matched their 149-yard first-half production with 125 yards in the third quarter alone, while they held the Fighting Irish to just 60 total yards of offense and four first downs in the quarter, two of which came via penalties. Just as the Fighting Irish had managed the clock well in the first half, holding possession for more than 55 percent of the first two quarters, the Buckeyes returned the favor in the final 30 minutes, nearly doubling the Irish’s time of possession (10:26) with 19 minutes and 34 seconds of offense in the second half. After an illegal block penalty from TreVeyon Henderson moved the ball back to the Notre Dame 34-yard line, Stroud found Xavier Johnson for a 10-yard gain to set up a more manageable third down. Trailing by just four, Notre Dame had a chance to bounce back and reclaim some positive energy. A 33-yard field goal got the scoring started for Notre Dame, and despite being forced to punt on the next two drives and surrendering a touchdown to C.J. The seven points that Ohio State mustered in the first half marked the Buckeyes’ lowest first-half score under Day.