Notre Dame vs. Ohio State picks, predictions: Who wins Week 1 college football game?
The No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes host the No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Saturday in a Week 1 college football game between Top 5 teams.
Which team will win the game?
Check out these picks and predictions for the game, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. MST and can be seen on ABC.
Ohio State football is a 16.5-point favorite in the game, according to Tipico Sportsbook.
Pac-12 football Week 1 picks, predictions:
College Football News: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 26
Pete Fiutak writes: "The Irish defense should be able to hold on better than many might think. Ohio State will win – the D really will be better – but it’ll take a little while before the dam breaks. Notre Dame will keep on bending without breaking for most of the game, but Stroud will find a groove on two good scoring drives to finally let everyone in the stadium breathe easier."
ESPN: Ohio State has an 83.5% chance to win the game vs. Notre Dame
The site gives Notre Dame a 16.5% shot at picking up the victory in Columbus.
More: Pac-12 football Week 1 odds: Point spreads, money lines, over/under for conference games
Odds Shark: Ohio State 46.8, Notre Dame 33.6
The site predicts that the Buckeyes will win, but takes the Fighting Irish with the points in their Week 1 college football showdown. It predicts that the total will go over.
Sports Memo: Take Notre Dame with the points vs. Ohio State
It writes: "Notre Dame may be 15-2 on the road in the last four years, but Ryan Day has only lost two regular season games in 5 years with the Buckeyes. Ohio State is 32-2 under Ryan Day, with an 18-1 record at home and 12-2 in the regular season against top-25 teams. Dating back slightly prior to Day’s tenure, they are 6-3 in the last nine home openers but against the spread has been a little different . Under Day, the Buckeye’s are 12-7 ATS at home and just 5-7 ATS in non-conference games. This is the 5th meeting between these two teams in the regular season and they have split those 2 match-ups, with Ohio State covering both the lined games (2-0 ATS). Although the two most recent match-ups between these two teams have come in the Fiesta Bowl with Ohio State going 2-0 SU & ATS, winning the most recent game by 16 points as a 6 point favorite in 2015. I think Ohio State comes out and looks impressive and wins this game by two touchdowns. Although, Notre Dame has an impressive and experienced (the key) defense that should keep this game within two scores, or right at two scores. Especially since this Fighting Irish team looks better than the team in 2015 that lost by 16 in the Fiesta Bowl, with a drastically improved defense in comparison."
More: Pac-12 football Week 1 picks, predictions: Oregon vs. Georgia, Utah vs. Florida key games
College Football News: 18 of 19 experts pick Ohio State to defeat Notre Dame
How big of an underdog is Notre Dame? The lone pick for the Fighting Irish was a coin toss. Just two of the 18 experts took Notre Dame with the points.
SB Nation: Ohio State will blow out Notre Dame in Week 1 showdown
Megan Husslein writes: "The Fighting Irish are a preseason Top 10 program, and while I do agree with the fact that they will be a quality team, I’m confident that the game between the two teams will end in only one way: a blow out by the Scarlet and Gray. I think ND is going to have a shaky start to its season. Between first-year head coach Marcus Freeman and first-year starting quarterback (most likely) Tyler Buchner, it’s going to take them a few games to figure out what works best for them. They can practice all they want, but nothing will be able to prepare them for coming into The Shoe for Ohio State’s season opener."
More: Pac-12 football Week 1 schedule: Game dates, times, television channels, how to watch
Fighting Irish Wire: Ohio State 37, Notre Dame 21
Nick Shepkowski writes: "The storybook career of Marcus Freeman sees his first regular season game as Notre Dame’s head coach coming at the school he played college football at, Ohio State. One of the all-time powerhouses in the sport, this Buckeyes squad has a case to be 2022’s preseason number-one with firepower on offense that few figure to be able to slow down."
SB Nation: Ohio State 33, Notre Dame 24
Joshua Vowles writes: "Any Irish fan that is happy this will be a night game has no idea how Columbus works during football season. Notre Dame gets burnt by the biggest mismatch in the game — the Buckeye wideouts versus the secondary."
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State football picks, predictions for Week 1 game
