Ohio State vs. Notre Dame picks, best bets for Week 4 matchup

The marquee showdown of Saturday’s college football slate brings us to Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend where the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes will visit the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Kickoff for this battle of heavyweights is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on NBC. OSU won last year’s matchup in Columbus 21-10.

Ohio State (3-0, 1-0 Big Ten) vaporized Western Kentucky last week, running the Hilltoppers out of the ‘Horseshoe’ in a 63-10 blowout win. Quarterback Kyle McCord had an extremely efficient passing day and helping him out was star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who had five receptions for 126 touchdowns and one of those scores. Not to be outdone, TreVeyon Henderson added two touchdowns on the ground. Meanwhile, the Buckeye defense continued its dominance by limiting WKU QB Austin Reed to just a single touchdown for the afternoon.

Notre Dame (4-0) is now getting into the meat of its schedule and is coming off a 41-17 thumping of Central Michigan last Saturday. Qurterback Sam Hartman threw for over 300 yards and three touchdowns in the win while running back Austin Estime was lethal on the ground, taking 20 carries for 176 yards and a score. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish defense was able to consistently get off the field as the Chippewas were a combined 4-14 on third/fourth down conversion attempts.

SP+ Rankings

Ohio State: 1 overall, 4 offense, 5 defense
Notre Dame: 4 overall, 6 offense, 7 defense

Injury update

Ohio State

TE Zak Herbstreit - Out for season (Undisclosed)
RB TC Caffey - Questionable (Knee)
WR Joop Mitchell - Questionable (Undisclosed)
WR Kyion Grayes - Questionable (Undisclosed)
S Jayden Bonsu - Questionable (Undisclosed)
TE Joe Royer - Questionable (Undisclosed)
LB Arvell Reese - Questionable (Undisclosed)
WR Reis Stocksdale - Out for season (Undisclosed)

Notre Dame

TE Eli Raridon - Out (Knee)
TE Mitchell Evans - Probable (Concussion)
LB JD Bertrand - Questionable (Concussion)
DL Gabe Rubio - Out (Knee)
K Chris Salerno - Out (Leg)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread in 2023

Ohio State: 1-2 ATS
Notre Dame: 3-1 ATS

Total in 2023

Ohio State: Over 1-2
Notre Dame: Over 3-1

Current lines at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Ohio State -3.5
Total: 55.5
Moneyline: Ohio State -166, Notre Dame +140

Opening line: Ohio State -3
Opening total: 54

Weather

57 degrees, clear, 7 MPH winds E

The Pick

Ohio State -3.5

We’ve been waiting to see these two teams play more level competition and we’ll finally get it here. OSU dominated a really good Western Kentucky team last week and that’s what you want to see out of a team that could go to the playoff. Meanwhile, Notre Dame has already played four games this year, so they should be in a rhythm and Sam Hartman looks good.

On paper, both teams are evenly matched as they’re both ranked in the top five in SP+. But one team has Marvin Harrison Jr. and that’s the difference for a team winning and losing these heavyweight fights. I’ll take the Buckeyes to cover and win outright on the road.