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It’s safe to say that things didn’t go as planned for the Irish in their Week 1 opener against Ohio State.
Notre Dame fell 21-10 to the Buckeyes under the lights in Columbus on Saturday night, struggling offensively for most of the night despite a solid defensive performance.
The Buckeyes outperformed the Irish in nearly every statistical category -- with the exception of made field goals -- which often isn’t a stat you want to lead in when it comes to winning games.
For the degenerates more concerned about the spread than outright wins, Notre Dame at least kept it within the 17-point spread for a nice 1-0 start ATS, but the Irish are in need of a bounce-back week.
Fortunately, they welcome Marshall to South Bend for their Week 2 home opener -- currently set to enter the day as 20.5-point favorites. In a game the Irish should win handily, let’s dive into the upcoming matchup.
Notre Dame
As previously mentioned, Notre Dame’s offense struggled to do much against the Buckeyes.
Making his first career start, quarterback Tyler Buchner completed 10-of-18 passes for 177 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for another 18 yards. Ohio State limited the Irish to just 48 plays and held them to a third down conversion rate of 23.1%
Running back Chris Tyree was limited to just 28 yards on six carries, while fellow running back Audric Estime rushed for 9-21-1. The only player to catch more than one pass was stud tight end Michael Mayer, who went for 5-32-0 on a team-high eight targets. It was an encouraging start for Mayer, but the rest of the Irish offense is in need of a big game against a beatable Marshall team.
In a game where Notre Dame should have numerous positional advantages, I expect good games out of both Buchner and Mayer, while Chris Tyree also looks to get comfortable after a six-carry performance last week.
Marshall
The Thundering Herd came out of their Week 1 opener against Norfolk State as 55-3 winners -- shocker. Quarterback Henry Colombi completed an absurd 24-of-26 passes for 205 yards, one touchdown and one interception, while two running backs ran for 100+ yards. Marshall was favored by 40.5 points and covered. It was all pretty predictable.
Now, Marshall prepares for their first FBS game of the season with Colombi set to lead the team into battle.
Colombi, who is with his third program, was most recently with Texas Tech. In two seasons with the Red Raiders, the former three-star recruit threw for 2,356 yards, 13 touchdowns and nine interceptions while completing 65.1% of his passes. Colombi and Texas Tech struggled out the gate in 2021, going 3-4 on the season while Colombi tossed five touchdowns to go with five interceptions.
Now with Marshall, Colombi and the Herd will look to make some noise in the Sun Belt after going 7-6 last season, but it’s unlikely they’ll be making much noise in this one.
Running back Rasheen Ali, who rushed for 250-1401-23 last season, while also catching 43 passes for 334 yards and one touchdown is expected to miss this game (personal reasons), leaving Marshall scrambling to replace their top offensive producer from last season. Wide receiver Corey Gammage (78-878-8) should serve as Colombi’s No. 1 target, but this is a Notre Dame defense that gave C.J. Stroud and the Buckeyes fits just a week ago.
Marshall does return six starters from a defense that ranked 44th in the nation in points allowed per game (33.0) last season, but that’s unlikely to hold much weight in this one -- sadly.
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Irish Pick ‘Em Predictor Picks
Notre Dame First Half Points (21-27)
I hate to be so down on Marshall in this one, but we know what we’re getting into. The books don’t expect this game to be close, and neither should we. Implied point totals between the two teams suggest the Irish will win this game 35.75-15.25 -- you know...if teams could score fractional points. Notre Dame’s offense was tough to watch against Ohio State, the Irish should have something to prove here, even if against Marshall. I was impressed enough with Notre Dame’s defense to believe they could give the offense multiple opportunities to score early in this one. I’m tempted to go with the 28-35 point predictions here, but I won’t let my confidence get the best of me.
Notre Dame Rushing Yards (136-155)
Notre Dame was stuffed at the line last weekend, rushing 30 times for 76 yards and one touchdown -- good for an underwhelming 2.5 yards per carry. At some point the Irish should have this game in hand and look to run out the clock. The Irish averaged 144.2 yards per game last season and were held below 100 yards in three games -- those coming against Florida State, Wisconsin and Oklahoma State. Eclipsing the century mark in this one feels like a lock for the Irish here, but I like them to go a little beyond that.
The Game
By now, you probably have a sense of where I’m going with this one. Some love it, others hate it, but it goes without saying that the predictable nature of some college football games is inevitable. This doesn’t mean we know how the game will unfold, and certainly, anything is possible, but you won’t find a lot of Marshall +869 money line bets out there. If not for a paltry 10-point performance last weekend, I’d be a bit more inclined to suggest Notre Dame doesn’t come out firing on all cylinders. Over the last two seasons, Notre Dame has gone 15-10 ATS and 7-6 at home. I picked the Irish to cover this season in a game I thought they’d be able to keep close -- that went well. Now, I’m looking for Notre Dame to prove against an overmatched team that their offense isn’t as anemic as it looked in Week 1.
Pick: Notre Dame (-20.5)
2022 ATS Record: 4-3
