The marquee matchup in Week 1 of the 2022 college football season — and a game that should draw huge betting action and TV ratings' –'features No. 5 Notre Dame visiting No. 2 Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. ESPN's College GameDay will be on hand, the show's 21st visit to Columbus — more than any other city. The Fighting Irish are whopping 17.5-point underdogs at Caesars Sportsbook.
It's the first regular-season game for which Notre Dame is at least a 17-point underdog since it visited USC on Nov. 26, 2016 at +17.5 and lost 45-27. The Irish are 3-4 against the spread'in their past seven as at least 17-point regular-season dogs.'
If this spread rises a bit more – and it opened at 13.5 – Notre Dame could close as the biggest Associated Press top 5 underdog since 2000. That biggest number was the No. 4 Irish getting 18.5 points against No. 1 Alabama in the Rose Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal following the 2020 season. The Crimson Tide won 31-14.
It's the regular-season coaching debut for Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman, although the team's former defensive coordinator did coach the Irish's 37-35 Fiesta Bowl loss to Oklahoma State on New Year's Day after Brian Kelly left for LSU.