"Got baited into the exact same game": Joel Klatt recalls last time Notre Dame played Ohio State before Natty clash

College Football analyst Joel Klatt believes that the No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish may have a strategy to defeat the No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes. The two teams will face off in the College Football Playoff National Championship on Monday.

On Thursday, Klatt appeared on the "Andy & Ari On3" podcast to discuss the upcoming matchup and how the Fighting Irish defense could outsmart the Buckeyes.

The last time Notre Dame (14-1) played Ohio State (13-2) was Sept. 23, 2023. The Fighting Irish defense kept the game close and held a 14-10 lead with less than 15 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, the Buckeyes pulled off a 17-14 win after running back Chip Trayanum scored on a 1-yard touchdown run, followed by kicker Jayden Fielding’s extra point.

Although the Fighting Irish lost that game, Klatt believes they can use their experience to pose problems for the Buckeyes in the championship. He highlighted Notre Dame’s preference for playing man coverage on defense.

While a man-to-man defense against Ohio State’s potent offense presents challenges, Klatt explained that Notre Dame has a strategy that could work to its advantage.

The analyst also pointed out that both the Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-6) and the Michigan Wolverines (8-5) employed a similar defensive approach, resulting in low-scoring games against the Buckeyes.

"Ohio State got baited into the exact game that they got baited into against Nebraska and Michigan, which was this, like, let's run it on first down because we have the run box," Klatt said (17:11 onwards).

He continued:

"We got the ratios, and then Notre Dame was allowed to play man coverage behind it, and they would play two deep man coverage, but then what they would do, just from a technicality standpoint, it wasn't Cover 2 man."

They would roll to a closed safety and drop a whole safety, and there were two free players. One of them would look up Marvin Harrison. The other one would just be a free player and run man underneath."

Joel Klatt believes Notre Dame's first downs will be key to beating Ohio State

On the same podcast episode, Klatt said Notre Dame must excel on first downs to have a chance against Ohio State. He argued the Fighting Irish will struggle to score more than 14 points if they fail to win on first downs.

"I don't want to diminish Notre Dame here. I think that they have a very narrow path because if they're not winning on first down, I don't see how they score more than 14...17 points in this game. It's not like they've set the world on fire in these playoffs offensively, to begin with, much less against Ohio State," Klatt said (12:04 onwards).

Ohio State’s defense, one of the best in college football this season, could make it difficult for Notre Dame to execute effectively on first downs, which might prove too much to overcome.