Replay: Ohio State beats Notre Dame 21-10

The Ohio State football team opens the 2022 college football season in grand fashion as the Buckeyes play one of the sport's most historic programs on a day when they honor one their best teams in program history and celebrate 100 years of football in the Horseshoe.

Yes, Saturday is a big day for the No. 2 ranked team in the nation, which plays No. 5 Notre Dame.

The matchup is a homecoming for first-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman, who took over the program in December and made his debut in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl. Freeman played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004-08 before starting his coaching career. He was the defensive coordinator for Luke Fickell at the University of Cincinnati before taking the Notre Dame job.

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His first game was against a defense run by Jim Knowles, who is now the defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes.

The game will feature the 2002 Ohio State national championship team being honored on a day Ohio Stadium celebrates 100 years as the home of the Buckeyes.

All this and, of course, "ESPN College GameDay" made a visit to Columbus for the game as the matchup is the only between two top-5 opponents this weekend.

Who will win between Buckeyes and Fighting Irish? Will Ohio State cover the 17.5 point spread?

Follow the game live below with news, notes and updates from The Columbus Dispatch staff.

Final score: Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 10

Ohio State moved to 1-0 on the season, and they will play Arkansas State next Saturday.

Buckeyes demonstrate toughness, extend their lead: Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 10

Ohio State just put together a 14-play, 95-yard drive that ate up 7:06 of clock. It leaves Notre Dame with less than five minutes to score 11 points and tie the game.

Miyan Williams rushed for 49 yards on the drive, including the last two for the touchdown. TreVeyon Henderson added 15 yards on the ground. C.J. Stroud was perfect through the air.

OSU preached toughness in the offseason. They demonstrated it on that series.

OSU takes the leads thanks to Xavier Johnson: Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 10

Xavier Johnson, filling in for the injured Jaxson-Smith Njibga, caught a 24-yard C.J. Stroud touchdown pass. As Paul Keels noted on the radio broadcast, it's been quite a ride for the grad student: "From walk-on, to scholarship to the endzone."

And on the next play, Johnson makes a play on special teams. His tackle ends the Notre Dame kick return at the 13-yard line.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba out for the game

Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is done for the night after spending time in the injury tent.

Smith-Njigba was seen standing on the sideline without his helmet and a towel on his shoulders after leaving the game previously with a left knee/hamstring injury.

ESPN's Holly Rowe said Smith-Njigba spent significant time in the injury tent and looked upset standing on the sideline.

Smith-Njigba finishes his first game of the 2022 season with two receptions for three yards on three targets.

Last season, in the opener against Minnesota, Smith-Njigba had two receptions for 12 yards.

Attendance for the Ohio State, Notre Dame game is announced

Plenty of fans are watching a closely contested game at Ohio Stadium.

OSU fans easily outnumber Notre Dame's, but...

Credit to the Fighting Irish faithful who are here at Ohio Stadium. They are a loud bunch.

Ohio State's offense stalls again

C.J. Stroud throws two incompletions on the second half's opening drive. He's now 12-for-20 passing for 103 yards. OSU punts the ball away.

Halftime score: Notre Dame 10-Ohio State 7

Notre Dame's Tyler Buchner completed his first eight pass attempts, is 8-for-10 passing overall and has 128 yards. OSU's C.J. Stroud has a touchdown, but has been successful on 11 of his 17 tosses for 99 yards.

TreVeyon Henderson has 36 of the Buckeyes' 50 rushing yards. Lathan Ransom leads OSU with six tackles. Steele Chambers has five. Tommy Eichenberg has contributed four stops and a sack.

ABC notes Ohio State's seven points marks the lowest total Ryan Day has had as the Buckeyes' head coach or offensive coordinator, matching the seven points OSU had at intermission in last season's loss to Oregon.

OSU kicker Noah Ruggles misses: Notre Dame 10, Ohio State 7

C.J. Stroud, who is now 11-of-17 passing, threw the ball behind Emeka Egbuka on third down, so Ohio State attempted a 39-yard field goal. The kick missed. In all likelihood, the Buckeyes will enter halftime down to the Fighting Irish.

Jaxson Smith-Njigba returns for Ohio State

After spending some time in the tent on the sidelines with OSU's trainers, receiver Jaxson-Smith Njigba has returned from his hamstring injury to play for the Buckeyes. However, he appears to be moving with a little bit of a limp.

OSU's Jaxon Smith-Njigba injured

Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba was absent during the Buckeyes' latest offensive drive. He is dealing with a left knee/hamstring injury, according to ABC. He has one catch for 4 yards tonight.

Notre Dame recaptures the lead: Notre Dame 10, Ohio State 7

OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' defense again has given up a touchdown drive thanks to a long play – in fact, back-to-back long plays. The first, was a 22-yard Tyler Buchner pass to Kevin Bauman. Buchner followed it up with a 31-yard throw to Matt Salerno. It eventually lead to an Audric Estime one-yard rush for a score.

During this series, Ohio State receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba visited the trainers and then jogged up and down the sideline. He seems to be healthy, but it's something to keep an eye on.

2002 National Champions honored

Just as during the 10th anniversary of the Buckeyes' national championship team, coach Jim Tressel was lifted by team members as fans at Ohio Stadium cheered.

The first touchdown of the game belongs to Emeka Egbuka, OSU: Ohio State 7, Notre Dame 3

OSU quarterback C.J. Stroud found Emeka Egbuka, who had slipped out to his left and behind two Notre Dame defenders, for a 31-yard touchdown pass. Stroud is 4-6 passing.

Ohio State has two rushes for -1 yard but leads with 5:32 remaining in the first quarter.

Watch:Ohio State's Emeka Egbuka scores his first collegiate touchdown.

Joe Burrow update: Sunglasses still on

It's 8:07 p.m. Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is still wearing his sunglasses. Oh, and a t-shirt that says, "How are you feeling today?"

Where is OSU defensive coordinator Jim Knowles?

Jim Knowles was tightlipped earlier in the week when addressing questions about whether he’d call Ohio State’s defense from the coaches’ booth or the sideline.

Now we know: He’s up in the box tonight.

Ohio State's defense gives up a big play, but then buckles down: Notre Dame 3, Ohio State 0

On the first play of Notre Dame's opening possession, quarterback Tyler Buchner completed a 54-yard pass to Lorenzo Styles. However, Ohio State's defense stiffened at that point, and the Irish's drive ended with a 33-yard field goal.

What channel is OSU, Notre Dame on?

The game is about to get underway on ABC, channel 6 in Columbus. As the official observed after Ohio State won the opening coin toss and decided to kick off: "Football is back."

Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is at Ohio Stadium for tonight's Ohio State, Notre Dame game

Adding to the festive atmosphere of tonight's matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 5 Notre Dame is the presence of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, complete with his customary sunglasses.

Tonight's pregame also included an aerial display in which some military parachuters landed at midfield.

Ohio State wide receiver Julian Fleming unlikely to play

After being listed as a game-time decision, OSU receiver Julian Fleming was not a full participant in tonight's warmups.

Oio State Ryan Day, Marcus Freeman meet at midfield, have extended discussion

Prior to the start of Ohio State's season-opening matchup with Notre Dame, Buckeye coach Ryan Day was seen at midfield having a discussion with Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman.

Freeman played linebacker at Ohio State from 2004-08 and was last in Ohio Stadium as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati during the 2019 season.

LeBron James, Bronny James at Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Columbus Dispatch reporter Adam Jardy reported that Ohio basketball legend, and Akron native, LeBron James is in Columbus with son Bronny to watch the Buckeyes play Notre Dame.

While recruiting news on Bronny James, a top recruit in the Class of 2023 from California, is somewhat of a mystery, Ohio State is said to be one of the possibilities.

Although LeBron James, one of the biggest star athletes in the world, didn’t attend college before being selected No. 1 overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003, it’s been well documented that he would have considered and possibly gone to Ohio State to play college basketball.

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Ezekiel Elliott, Terry McLaurin have made an appearance for Ohio State vs. Notre Dame

Some former Buckeyes have found their way into the building, including Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott and Washington Commanders wide receivers Terry McLaurin and Curtis Samuel.

Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields is also on the sideline and was seen chatting with cornerback Jeff Okudah, who recently won the Detroit Lions' starting cornerback job.

Even Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum and Golden State Warriors small forward Andre Igoudala made an appearance at the Skull Session with former Ohio State basketball player Evan Turner.

Ohio State swept “College GameDay” predictions 

ESPN's "College GameDay" crew is buying into Ohio State ahead of its matchup with Notre Dame.

ESPN analyst Lee Corso donned the Brutus Buckeye mascot head for the first time in 2022, picking Ohio State alongside celebrity guest picker Jack Harlow.

"I could have been from South Bend," Harlow said. "I could have grown up a Notre Dame fan, but you could not have paid me to say Notre Dame today.

"I want to get out of here alive. I'm picking Ohio State."

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Former Michigan wide receiver and Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard picked the Buckeyes, but said it would be a “closer game than the experts think.”

Former Georgia linebacker David Pollack said Ohio State would cover the 17.5-point spread, while ESPN analyst Chris Fallica said the Buckeyes would win, but not cover.

Big Ten Week 1 score updates

Here’s a look at how the rest of the Big Ten is doing in Week 1 of the college football season:

No. 18 Wisconsin vs. Illinois State; 7 p.m., FS1

Iowa (1-0) 7, South Dakota State (0-1) 3

Maryland (1-0) 31, Buffalo (0-1) 10

Rutgers (1-0) 22, Boston College (0-1) 21

Friday

No. 15 Michigan State (1-0) 35, Western Michigan 13

Indiana (1-0) 23, Illinois (1-1) 20

Thursday

Penn State (1-0) 35, Purdue (0-1) 31

Minnesota (1-0) 38, New Mexico State (0-1) 0

Michigan football dominates Colorado State in season opener 

Michigan wasted no time in Week 1 of the season, pounding Colorado State, 51-7, at home.

Going into the season with the plan of starting two different quarterbacks through the first two games of the season, Jim Harbaugh saw JJ McCarthy shine in backup duties, completing all four of his pass attempts for 30 yards, while adding three rushes for 50 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown run.

Starting quarterback Cade McNamara finished with 136 passing yards and a touchdown, completing 50% of his throws.

The Wolverines run game was primarily led by the run game, recording 234 yards on 40 carries with four touchdowns, averaging 5.85 yards per carry with Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards at the forefront.

Michigan’s defense allowed 219 total yards and 14 first downs and one fourth-quarter touchdown.

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Julian Fleming a game-time decision for OSU vs. Notre Dame game

Julian Fleming will be a game-time decision for Ohio State’s season opener against Notre Dame on Saturday night.

If Fleming is held out, it could leave the Buckeyes without a potential starter at wide receiver.

During a practice in preseason training camp that was open to reporters last month, he was lined up with the first-team offense at one of the outside receiver spots opposite Marvin Harrison Jr.

In an intrasquad scrimmage last week, one of Fleming’s shoulders popped out, coach Ryan Day said. But instead of sidelining him for the rest of the practice, Fleming popped it back in himself and went on to catch two touchdowns.

As he recounted the episode, Day added that he was expecting “big things” from Fleming against Notre Dame.

Fleming felt his response in the scrimmage left him feeling more assured about his improvement over this offseason.

“It definitely boosted my confidence a lot,” Fleming said. “It’s a painful thing, but sometimes pain is just in your mind. You've got to constantly work through little bumps and tweaks. Painful stuff and being injured is very different.

“The way I took it was that it was another little punch along the way, and I had to do everything I could to help my team.”

Shoulder issues hampered him in previous seasons. He underwent a procedure on his left shoulder in the offseason following his freshman season. But Fleming, who was the nation’s top-ranked receiver in the 2020 recruiting class, is said to have been at full strength for much of this year.

“Sometimes you've got to roll with the punches,” Fleming said. “I take it as just another little bump along the way. Obviously, I've been plagued with little bumps, bruises, injuries.”

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Here are the announcers for the Ohio State-Notre Dame game:

• Chris Fowler (play-by-play)

• Kirk Herbstreit (analysis)

• Holly Rowe (sideline)

How to watch the Ohio State football game

Ohio State's game against Notre Dame is on ABC at 7:30 p.m. The game will follow No. 3 Georgia vs. No. 11 Oregon, which kicks off at 3:30 p.m.

The game will stream on any platform that offers ESPN and ABC networks such as ESPN+, HULU Live and YouTube TV.

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What radio station is the Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game on?

Ohio State football is on WBNS-FM/AM (97.1/1460).

Here are the announcers:

• Paul Keels (play-by-play)

• Jim Lachey (analysis)

• Matt Andrews (sideline)

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Ohio State football schedule 2022

• Week 1: Ohio State vs. Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3, in Columbus, Ohio

• Week 2: Ohio State vs. Arkansas State, Sept. 10, in Columbus, Ohio

• Week 3:Ohio State vs. Toledo, Sept. 17, in Columbus, Ohio 

• Week 4: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, Sept. 24, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 5: Ohio State vs. Rutgers, Oct. 1, Columbus Ohio

• Week 6:Ohio State vs. Michigan State, Oct. 8, East Lansing, Mich. 

• Week 7:Ohio State vs. Iowa, Oct. 22, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 8:Ohio State vs. Penn State, Oct. 29, State College, Pa. 

• Week 9: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, Nov. 5, Evanston, Ill. 

• Week 10:Ohio State vs Indiana, Nov. 12, Columbus, Ohio

• Week 11: Ohio State vs. Maryland, Nov. 19, College Park, MD. 

• Week 12: Ohio State vs. Michigan, at noon Nov. 26, Columbus, Ohio

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football score vs. Notre Dame: Live updates