Coach Marcus Freeman sees straight forward the opportunity No. 9 Notre Dame gets with Saturday's top-10 showdown against No. 6 Ohio State.
The college football spotlight will be on South Bend on Saturday morning. It will shift toward No. 19 Colorado and Deion Sanders in the afternoon for the Buffaloes' matchup at No. 10 Oregon. Then, it will come back to the Irish for a prime-time matchup with the Buckeyes. Prime-time television ratings are coming.
"We're excited about the chance to go against a top-tier opponent," Freeman said at his weekly press conference Monday. "We're excited about the atmosphere; the experience that's going to be here with 'College GameDay' and 'The Pat McAfee Show' and NBC."
TV programming has changed in 30 years, but the Irish always resonate. After all, it was on Nov. 13, 1993, when ESPN's "College GameDay" made its first campus appearance before No. 2 Notre Dame upset No. 1 Florida State in arguably the greatest regular-season college football game of all time.
This is that kind of program moment for the Irish – whether their fans want to admit it or not. The green jerseys (and pants) are coming out. The Buckeyes represent the dominant college football power in the Midwest for the last 30 years. This is the sixth meeting between the schools in the AP Poll era, and Ohio State is 5-0.
Forget 30 years. You have to go back to 1935-36 to find the Irish's victory in this series. So, yes, we're going to come out and declare it: A Notre Dame victory against Ohio State would be the biggest victory for the program in the last 30 years.
Don't agree? Let's make our case.
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What is Notre Dame's best win since 1993?
Biggest win in 30 years? Notre Dame fans might argue it wouldn't be the biggest win in the next three weeks. After all, No. 5 USC and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams visit Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 14.
When they're done saying that, they'll bring up the 47-40 double-overtime victory against No. 1 Clemson on Nov. 7, 2020. That no doubt was huge, but DJ Uiagalelei was playing in place of Trevor Lawrence, who tested positive for COVID-19. Fans stormed the field even though they weren't supposed to. The Tigers would return the favor with Lawrence on the field in a 34-10 blowout in the ACC championship game – and Alabama beat the Irish 31-14 in the Rose Bowl at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. By the way, Ohio State beat Clemson 49-28 in the Sugar Bowl.
Everything about the last paragraph still reads weird, and we're trying to forget 2020 in general.
Everything about the Ohio State-Notre Dame setup is perfect for a memorable event. The stadium will be packed, and there will be large portions of scarlet and gray among the green. Freeman, of course, played linebacker at Ohio State, and made his regular-season coaching debut in a 21-10 loss to the Buckeyes on Sept. 3, 2022.
"We want to see a lot of green in here," Freeman said. "That's the cool thing about Saturday. We've got green jerseys. I don't know if we're calling it a 'Green Out,' but we want to see a lot of green here."
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The implications on the College Football Playoff will be huge, and it's a chance for Notre Dame to quiet the big-game critics. This is that kind of game.
If it's not Clemson, then what is Notre Dame's most-memorable game of the last 30 years?
Before the Clemson game, you had to rewind all the way back to a 17-10 upset against No. 3 Michigan on Sept. 10, 2005, to find a regular-season victory against a top-five team. The Irish won at No. 8 Oklahoma 30-13 on Oct. 27, 2012, as part of a run to the BCS championship game. Who remembers the Sooners' quarterback in that game? It was Landry Jones.
A Notre Dame detractor could make the argument that the Irish's most-memorable game against a ranked team since 1993 was the legendary "Bush Push" game against No. 1 USC on Oct. 15, 2005. The Trojans won 34-31. No. 4 Ohio State beat Notre Dame 34-20 in the Fiesta Bowl to close the season.
That's where all these themes tie together. Beating Ohio State would elevate the Notre Dame program into that elite fraternity.
Beating Ohio State would be Notre Dame's best win since 1993
Two years after the Irish beat Florida State in that famous No. 1-vs.-No. 2 showdown, the Irish – ranked No. 15 – visited No. 5 Ohio State on Sept. 30, 1995. It was the programs' first meeting since 1936. Ohio State running back Eddie George's 61-yard run became mural material in Columbus, Ohio, after the Buckeyes 38-26 victory.
It represents the Buckeyes' dominance in these infrequent meetings – Ohio State has won the last five meetings by an average of 14.6 points per game – and the shift toward which program has dominated the Midwest. From 1970-94 – the 25 seasons before the game – Ohio State had a record of 215-71-8 (.741) and Notre Dame was 213-74-4 (.737). From 1995 to the present day, the Buckeyes are 286-61 (.824); a huge difference from the Irish at 213-118 (.643).
Four programs have more than 100 wins in the College Football Playoff era; an exclusive list that includes Alabama (117-13), Ohio State (107-13), Clemson (112-17) and Georgia (104-21). The Irish are 2-4 against Clemson in that stretch. They are 0-4 against Alabama (0-1), Georgia (0-2) and Ohio State (0-1), and the Irish have lost those games by an average of 8.8 points per game.
From a perception standpoint, yes, beating the Buckeyes and what they represent is huge. Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman mentioned "College GameDay" multiple times in his press conference.
"This is big for the university, big for our teams this season," Hartman said. "The road to the finish line runs through this game – and really every game for us – it's going to be a huge challenge."
Hartman – the Wake Forest transfer – is the best quarterback Notre Dame has had going into a matchup against the Buckeyes. He had 1,061 passing yards, 13 TDs and no interceptions through four games. Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord is making his fifth career start, with four coming this season.
This is the Irish's best chance to beat the Buckeyes, and that's reflected in a three-point spread.
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Anybody who cannot see the potential magnitude from the South Bend angle is flat-out wrong. Yes, USC is a more traditional rival and that might mean more to the fan-base on an every-year basis. Sure, beating No. 1 Clemson was awesome. So was "Catholics vs. Convicts" against No. 1 Miami in 1988, the Sugar Bowl against No. 3 Florida in 1992 and, of course, the "Game of the Century" against No. 1 Florida State in 1993.
To deny that a school approximately 250 miles and one state over isn’t a huge game for the programs because they don’t play frequently enough is ridiculous. To start conversations with "regional" and "national" is dumb. These schools are both relevant across the country all the freaking time. To deflect with conversations about why the Irish will never join the Big Ten by citing television contracts and the five-game arrangement with the ACC is a defense mechanism. It is denial at its finest, especially from the Irish side.
You know why that is? Unless you watched in 1936, you haven’t seen Notre Dame beat Ohio State. Watch the reaction if it happens. If these schools played every year, then the ratings and interest would top the old Notre Dame-Michigan rivalry, which will not be resumed until 2033; yet another scheduling travesty depriving Midwest football fans of the games worth watching in September.
We will stand by another idea, too: The Irish should join the Big Ten in the future – especially with USC already there. Imagine these rivalries with conference and CFP consequences. Given the last realignment cycle, it makes sense to make the move soon.
But whether it’s 30 years ago or 10 years from now, Freeman is not the type of coach who looks in those directions. He sees this for what it is, an opportunity.
"It's human element to think about the future, think about the past," Freeman said. "That's what's natural, but that doesn't help you do your job, that doesn't help me do my job. ... You have to stay in the moment and prepare and win these moments."
Sounds like Freeman is ready. Opportunities like this don't come around often in a 30-year window.
