The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Ohio State Buckeyes will square off in prime time on Saturday night. The game carries significant national title implications but college football legend Lou Holtz expects Notre Dame to coast, largely due to Ryan Day’s record in big games.
Not only does Holtz discredit Day because of his record, but he also questions Ohio State’s lack of toughness under the 44-year-old Buckeyes head coach.
“Notre Dame is a better football team than Ohio State,” Holtz said on The Pat McAfee Show on Friday. “And let me tell you why: We have the best offensive line in the country. Sam Hartman won’t even get his jersey dirty all year. He has time to throw the football. We have great running backs. This team is averaging about 10 yards per carry. We have great receivers, so offensively, we’re set. Defensively, our defensive line’s better.”
Then came Holtz’s direct criticism of Day.
“You look at Coach Day, I coached at Ohio State under Woody Hayes. We won the national championship when I was there,” Holtz said. “He has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice and everybody (who) beats him does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State. And I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”
Holtz acknowledged that Notre Dame’s schedule has been rather easy to start the season — 103rd overall in strength of schedule — but that won’t matter come Saturday night. He says they practice “good on good” every day and will bring everything they have against the Buckeye.
“We will win because we believe. Forget who in the hell we’re playing,” Holtz said. “Just tell Ohio State this. You take this message to Ohio State: You better bring your lunch because it’s going to be a full day’s work.”
Ohio State has beaten Notre Dame in five straight, including a 21-10 victory last season. Despite that, Holtz expects things to change on Saturday night when things kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
