Yahoo Sports’ Dan Wetzel, and Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellenger discuss 2 Ohio State’s 21-10 win over 5 Notre Dame, and debate what fans can expect from the Irish for the rest of the 2022 season

Video transcript

DAN WETZEL: I thought Notre Dame was really impressive. A, the fight was incredible. They clearly played hard. They had a good strategy. They have a very stout defense. They have some really good players. They just didn't have a quarterback. And I don't like picking on the players. Tyler Buckner was fine early. But then he-- just, it's a tough job to get thrown in your first college start, into that environment against that team. So can he improve?

If he does, they're going to be really good. And we'll see what they are out when they play Clemson in, what, like six weeks or something like that-- or is that November?

PAT FORDE: Yeah, it's like November 5th, I think.

DAN WETZEL: Two months there. That could be a real interesting-- we'll see. But I like Notre Dame. I thought they did a nice job. And I think they're going to have a very successful season. And you talk to Notre Dame fans before this thing, and they're like, I don't want to get embarrassed. I don't want to get blown out. And they weren't, you know? All in all, a very good night for Notre Dame if you're going to lose by 11 points.

PAT FORDE: Yeah, no, I mean, I agree. Look, they did. They had a good plan. And they did play extremely hard. Their defense is good. I mean, they've got guys on all three levels of the defense that can make plays. And they're stout up front. The offense, to me, is an issue. Here's your stat for you. If you want to get into the sky is falling. Because you always have to when you lose. All right, Marcus Freeman's been the head coach. Tommy Reese has been the offensive coordinator, kind of almost the co head coach, the guy in charge of the offense for two games now.

They've been outscored 37-7 in the second half. Can't get anything done offensively in the second half. It was 14-0 this game. It was 23-7 in the Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State. Tyler Buckner is OK. But he's not necessarily a big-time quarterback. Their receivers are OK. A couple of them made nice plays to make catches. But they're not burners who are going to separate. Michael Myers is a big-time tight end, obviously.

Their best offensive lineman didn't play, Jaret Patterson. So that's another thing. You're going to get better that way. But your running backs, do you have anybody who can make someone miss? I don't know. They didn't do a whole lot of that. Notre Dame is going to be fine. They're going to win a lot of games. And yes, again, the plan and the toughness were both there. I don't know whether that offense can get them to the playoff.

ROSS DELLENGER: I'll be honest. I picked this game. I picked Ohio State to cover, right? I didn't have a whole lot of faith in the Irish. And I came away really impressed, probably came away more impressed with Notre Dame in this game as a loser than even Ohio State. I was impressed with the Irish. And it bodes well, maybe, for later down the line here.