Notre Dame vs. Ohio State picks and best bets for Week 1

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Ohio State Buckeyes meet in Columbus this weekend. Here’s everything you need to know for the game and a pick.

By Grace McDermott Sep 3, 2022, 3:31am PDT

Quarterback DeShone Kizer #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish throws a pass during the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28.

The No. 5 Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to Columbus this Saturday to face the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. ET in a highly-touted top-ten opener.

Here’s all the data you’ll want, and a pick for the game!

SP+ Rankings

Notre Dame: No. 7 overall, No. 18 offense, No. 7 defense
Ohio State: No. 3 overall, No. 1 offense, No. 15 defense

Injury update

Notre Dame

RB Logan Diggs - probable (shoulder)
OL Jarrett Patterson - questionable (foot)
WR Avery Davis - out for season (ACL)
WR Joe Wilkins - probable (foot)

Ohio State

WR Kamryn Babb - out indefinitely (knee)
RB Evan Pryor - out for season (knee)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread

Notre Dame: 0-0 ATS
Ohio State: 0-0 ATS

Total

Notre Dame: Over 0-0
Ohio State: Over 0-0

Returning/Overall Talent from 247Sports

Notre Dame: No. 11 overall, No. 9 offense, No. 9 defense
Ohio State: No. 2 overall, No. 2 offense, No. 2 defense

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Ohio State -16
Total: 59
Moneyline: Ohio State -740, Notre Dame +540

Opening line: Ohio State -14
Opening total: 58

Weather

77 degrees, 4 MPH wind, 21% chance of rain

The Pick

Notre Dame +16

A 16-point spread in a top-five matchup is just ridiculous, no matter how good Ohio State’s offense is going to be this year. The Buckeyes have some holes to fill on defense that the Irish would do well to exploit on Saturday, and while they might not bring a W back to South Bend, ND should be able to cover the spread.

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