No question, the marquee matchup in the opening week of the college football season is a Saturday prime-time game with No. 5 Notre Dame visiting No. 2 Ohio State, although oddsmakers don’t expect it to be close with the Irish as shockingly big underdogs.

Before everything else, Nitrobetting arms you with everything you need to kick things off on a positive note. Below, we provide event details, team and player statistics, and the latest NCAAF odds. More than that, we go the extra mile and share timely betting trends and predictions that help you secure the best picks. Check out for more sports betting odds and lines, exclusively at our online BTC sportsbook.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Game Information

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— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) August 31, 2022

• When: Saturday, September 3, 2022, 7:30 PM ET
• Where: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• TV: ABC
• Radio: WFAN Sports Radio 101.9 FM (Notre Dame) // WBNS 97.1 FM (Ohio State)
• Live Stream: WatchESPN
• College Football Odds: Notre Dame (+17) // Ohio State (-17)

Why Bet on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish?

This will be the regular-season Notre Dame head coaching debut of Marcus Freeman, the team’s former defensive coordinator. He did coach the team’s Fiesta Bowl loss to close last season after Brian Kelly left for Notre Dame.

Freeman has named sophomore Tyler Buchner as the new starting quarterback, as he beat out Drew Pyne. Buchner saw a decent amount of mop-up action last season, but nothing like this – although he did play home night game wins over USC and North Carolina. But his most extensive experience of the season, night or day, was in Notre Dame’s 32-29 Oct. 9 win at Virginia Tech. It’s the game offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has pointed to the most when asked about any concerns about his first-time starter playing in a big-time road environment.

“I think that’s invaluable,” Rees said of Buchner’s Virginia Tech night game experience. “I don’t know how loud it’s going to be, but I anticipate a great environment for college football and I think we’ve done a really nice job, you know, from Coach (Marcus) Freeman to Coach (Harry) Hiestand and the O-Line like preparing ourselves for that.”

As ND’s backup QB as a true freshman in 2021, Buchner threw for 298 yards (21-of-35) with three touchdowns and three interceptions. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound Buchner is a dual-threat quarterback, and he rushed for 336 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and three TD. Since Paul Hornung started his first career game against SMU in the 1955 season opener in Notre Dame Stadium, Irish quarterbacks are 42-16 (.724) in their first career starts.

Over the past two seasons with Rees as the offensive coordinator, Notre Dame is one of only eight FBS schools to pass for over 6,500 yards and rush for over 4,000 yards (North Carolina, Ole Miss, BYU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Florida and Clemson).

Notre Dame has perhaps the best tight end in college football in third-year player Michael Mayer. Buckeyes defensive coordinator Jim Knowles was asked how he plans on trying to contain the 6-foot-5, 251-pound Mayer.

“You have to mix it up,” Knowles said. “You have to blend in different coverages and people who are on him coming from different directions. He’s an excellent player. He’s an NFL player. Furthermore, he has that ability to lean into the coverage and find the open spot. So, it is about knowing where he is at all times and making sure that we’re changing it up enough with him to keep him off balance.”

Why Bet on the Ohio State Buckeyes?

Ohio State brings back perhaps the best quarterback in the country in CJ Stroud, the Heisman Trophy favorite and early leader to be the top pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He led the best offense in the nation as a freshman in 2021 with Ohio State No. 1 nationally in total offense (561.5 yards per game) and scoring offense (45.7 ppg) while also finishing No. 2 in passing efficiency and No. 3 in passing offense (380.9 ypg).

Stroud completed 317-of-441 passes for 4,435 yards with 44 TDs vs. just 6 INTs. He finished in the top five nationally in passer efficiency rating (2nd, 186.6), touchdown passes (3rd, 44), completion percentage (3rd, 71.9), yards per game (3rd, 369.6), yard and yards/attempt (2nd, 10.1).

He also has maybe the nation’s top running back this season in TreVeyon Henderson and best receiver in Jaxon Smith-Njigba. As a true freshman, Henderson put the rest of college football on notice last season. In 13 games, he finished with 183 carries for 1,248 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also bringing in 27 catches for 312 yards and four touchdowns. Smith-Njigba compiled an Ohio State single-season records of 95 receptions and 1,606 receiving yards, while also scoring nine touchdowns. Keep in mind, this was all while playing alongside Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson – two top-11 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Ohio State leads the all-time series 4-2-0. Saturday will mark the first regular-season meeting between the schools since 1996. The two more recent meetings between the two schools occurred in the Fiesta Bowl 10 years apart (2006, 2016) and in two different venues (Sun Devil Stadium, University of Phoenix Stadium). It’s the first time Notre Dame is kicking off the season in a top five matchup since 1990, when the top-ranked Irish defeated No. 4 Michigan 28-24 in Notre Dame Stadium.

Ohio State has won an incredible 22 straight season openers, the longest such streak in the FBS. Notre Dame has won its past five.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Betting Trends

• Notre Dame are 7-1 ATS in the last 8 games.
• Notre Dame are 7-1 SU in the last 8 games.
• The total went over in 4 of Notre Dame’s last 5 games played in September.
• Ohio State are 2-4 ATS in the last 6 games.
• Ohio State are 10-1 SU in the last 11 games.
• The total went over in 13 of Ohio State’s last 19 games.

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State Expert Betting Predictions

Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20.

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