The Biggest Takeaways from Ohio State’s Season-Opening Win over Notre Dame

Although Ohio State’s season opener against Notre Dame didn’t go quite the way we expected, we came away with plenty of positive impressions from the Buckeyes’ performance.Ohio State’s defense exceeded our expectations while we expected more from the Buckeyes’ offense against Notre Dame, but overall, we think there was more to like than dislike from Ohio State’s season-opening 21-10 win over the Fighting Irish, who entered the season ranked fifth in the country.In nearly a full hour of discussion on the Buckeyes’ first victory of the year, we talked about just about everything that resonated with us from Saturday night’s season opener in the Shoe, including:0:48: What stood out most to each us: The dominant debut of Jim Knowles’ defense and Xavier Johnson’s moment in the spotlight7:49: Ohio State’s defensive stars against Notre Dame: Mike Hall, Tommy Eichenberg and Lathan Ransom14:02: How Ohio State’s defensive rotations could change in future games21:12: Ohio State’s defense will face tougher tests as the season progresses – but maybe not for another month25:42: Miyan Williams proves he needs to get consistent carries at running back30:13: Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s injury shows just how important he is to Ohio State’s offense, and the Buckeyes shouldn’t take any chances with him (or Luke Wypler) for the next two weeks36:15: Ohio State’s offense gets a reality check, but it’s way too early to say Ryan Day should give up play calling43:18: Barely any freshmen played against Notre Dame, but that’s not a bad thing46:18: A star-studded weekend at the Shoe was exactly what Ohio State needed to build recruiting momentumIn the final 20 minutes of the show, we spend just a few minutes (starting at 49:43) talking about this week’s game against Arkansas State before making our predictions on whether the Buckeyes will cover the 44-point spread. We also talk (beginning at 54:35) about how this weekend reaffirmed our belief that there‘s a gap between the top three teams in college football this year (Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State) and everyone else, and share our initial thoughts (59:59) on the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, which Dan believes will be a net positive for the sport but Griffin is not so sure on.Finally (1:05:42), we talk about this week’s developments in Ohio State basketball: the unfortunate but not shocking end of Seth Towns’ career with the Buckeyes, the decommitment of George Washington III and the possibility that Taison Chatman and/or Bronny James could replace Washington in Ohio State’s recruiting class of 2023.