COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Buckeyes open the 2022 season this weekend as they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a top-five primetime matchup.
Head coach Ryan Day, defensive coordinator Jim Knowles along with tight end Cade Stover, safety Ronnie Hickman and offensive lineman Paris Johnson Jr. spoke with the media Tuesday ahead of the game.
You can watch the videos below.
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OHIO STATE VS. NOTRE DAME: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
*Info provided by Ohio State Athletics
Quick Hitters
- Ohio State’s Ryan Day is in his sixth year with the program and his fourth as head coach. He is 34-4 overall and his teams are 18-1 at home and 13-4 vs. Top 25-ranked teams.
- Ohio State finished first nationally last season in scoring offense as the Buckeyes averaged 45.7 points per game. Since Day’s arrival in 2017, the Buckeyes have averaged 40 points or more per game every season. Ohio State is the only program in the nation to have such a streak.
- Over the last 10 seasons (2012-21), Ohio State is third nationally with 64 home wins and a .941 home winning percentage.
- Quarterback C.J. Stroud will make his fourth career start against a top-10 ranked team on Saturday night. In his first three starts, he’s been statistically magnificent. Stroud had the nation’s top passer efficiency rating against top-10 teams in 2021 (minimum two starts) and tossed 14 touchdowns against just one interception.
- WR Jaxon Smith Njigba closed out the 2021 season with five consecutive 100-yard games. That ties Cris Carter for the longest such streak in program history.
A Grand Opening
- Ohio State will face a top-five ranked opponent in its season opener for just the third time in program history on Saturday.
- At No. 5, Notre Dame is tied with Penn State (1978) and Alabama (1986) as the highest ranked season-opening opponent for Ohio State.
- Never before have the Buckeyes opened their home season in a game when both teams are ranked in the top five.
- Ohio State has won 22 consecutive season-opening games dating back to a 23-12 loss to No. 12 Miami in the 1999 Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
THE Matchup: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame
- Saturday night will be just the seventh all-time meeting between Ohio State and Notre Dame and the first in the regular season in 26 years.
- This is the fourth consecutive meeting between the two programs where both teams are in the Top 10 of the national rankings, including the 2016 (Ohio State – 7; ND 8), 2006 (Ohio State –4; ND 5) and 1996 (Ohio State – 4; ND 5) games.
- The only other two times Notre Dame has played at Ohio State was 1935 (an 18-13 Irish win) and 1995 (a 45-26 Ohio State win).
- The Buckeyes have taken each of the last four games in the series, winning in 1995 and 1996 and then adding Fiesta Bowl wins following the 2005 and 2015 seasons.
- Ohio State ranks in a tie for second in all-time wins (942); Notre Dame is fourth (929)
- Ohio State is first in all-time winning percentage (.731); Notre Dame is third (.730)
- The Buckeyes and Fighting Irish are tied for first all-time with seven Heisman Trophy winners apiece.
Scouting the Irish
HEAD COACH MARCUS FREEMAN
- The game will be the inaugural season opener for Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, a 2007 Ohio State graduate (sport & leisure studies), a four-year letterman and a 37-game starter at linebacker.
- Freeman was part of four Big Ten Conference championships teams at Ohio State and two teams that played in national championship games: vs. Florida in 2006 and LSU in 2007.
- Freeman, from Huber Heights near Dayton, also has his master’s degree from Ohio State and started his coaching career here as a GA under Jim Tressel in 2010.
THE IRISH
- Ranked fifth in the Associated Press preseason poll, Notre Dame is coming off a season in which it went 11-2 and made an appearance in the Fiesta Bowl.
- The Irish will have a new starting quarterback when it takes the field on Saturday night in Ohio Stadium: sophomore Tyler Buchner. He played in 10 games last fall and completed 21 of 35 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed 46 times for 336 yards and three TDs.
- Defensively, leading tackler JD Bertrand returns. He totaled 101 stops with 7.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.5 sacks.