Notre Dame football: Irish low in list of toughest OSU 2022 opponents
By Brad Weiss
Ohio State is going to be the toughest opponent for the Notre Dame football team in 2022, but where do they rank for the Buckeyes?
Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman will be making his regular season head coaching debut against his alma mater, the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2022. Freeman took over for Brian Kelly after Kelly bolted for LSU before the Fiesta Bowl, a game the Irish blew a big lead in and eventually lost.
Now, the Irish will turn to Freeman to lead them in their next era of football, and the future could not be brighter.
However, the first test for Freeman in a regular season game is going to be a tough one, as he faces a Buckeyes team that is projected to be one of the best in the country in 2022. They have a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback in CJ Stroud, arguably the best wideout in the country, and are strong up front on both sides of the ball.
For the Irish, this will be their toughest regular season opponent, but where do the Irish rank in terms of Ohio State’s matchups?
Notre Dame football low in Ohio State schedule ranking
Connor Muldowney does an excellent job at SaturdayBlitz.com, covering the entire college football landscape. He recently put together a piece ranking the opponents for the Ohio State Buckeyes in 2022, and while the Buckeyes should be atop the Irish list, they were nowhere near the top for Ohio State.
They barely made the top 4.
Some of this is understanding, as Michigan is their biggest rival, and they came in at No. 1 on the list. Penn State was the No. 2 matchup for Ohio State, and Michigan State was No. 3, a team some feel will surprise a lot of people in 2022.
The truth is, the Big Ten is loaded with talented teams, and many games are rivalry games that date back a very long time ago. For the Irish, they may not be considered Ohio State’s biggest matchup of the 2022 season, but the Buckeyes are theirs, and they better bring it in Week 1.