Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Early point spread released on Fighting Irish, Buckeyes

In one of the most anticipated early-season matchups in the 2023 slate, Ohio State will take on Notre Dame in a meeting that will provide some serious pop to the resume of the winner and the early point spread is out.

Based on Las Vegas’ odds, it appears the oddsmakers are anticipating a very quality game. Ohio State opens up as a 3.5-point favorite in the contest, according to FanDuel.

Ohio State has won the last five meetings in the series, dating back to 1995. The Buckeyes won last season’s meeting, which happened in the season opener, by a 21-10 score. Notre Dame was ranked No. 5 in the country at the time, while Ohio State was ranked No. 2.

This season’s game will be another meeting between two top-10 teams.

Both teams have undergone significant change since the last meeting. Ohio State has lost quarterback CJ Stroud to the NFL Draft, replacing him with a newly confident Kyle McCord. McCord still has one of the best receiving corps in the country to work with, led by Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.

There’s also a strong run game to lean on, with tailbacks TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams shouldering the bulk of the load.

Notre Dame also features an excellent run game, though it’s powered much more by one man. Audric Estime has been superb through the first few games of the season, showing impressive power and ability to pound the rock between the tackles.

Meanwhile, quarterback Sam Hartman‘s transfer from Wake Forest has revitalized the passing game for the Fighting Irish. Hartman was electric through his team’s first four games. He has thrown for 1,061 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception.

Ohio State maintains a 5-2 lead in the all-time series against Notre Dame and the early point spread indicates this should be another fun game.

The tantalizing tilt between Ohio State and Notre Dame is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on Saturday, with a broadcast set for NBC.