The Ohio State football program defeated the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in a 63-10 win at Ohio Stadium last Saturday.

The Buckeyes recorded 358 passing yards and 204 rushing yards against the Hilltoppers in the home win. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson notched 88 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He became the 28th Buckeye to earn 2,000 career rushing yards in the third quarter of Ohio State's win, according to a Saturday article from Buckeyes Now.

Ohio State will take on Notre Dame in Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 23. The Fighting Irish took down Central Michigan behind 176 rushing yards from running back Audric Estime. Notre Dame wide receivers Tobias Merriweather, Chris Tyree and tight end Holden Staes each recorded one receiving touchdown. 

What are some bold predictions for Ohio State when they face Notre Dame on Saturday?

4. Kyle McCord will throw for at least 260 yards

McCord was named the starting quarterback for the rest of the season earlier this month.

“It gives Kyle, first off, peace of mind that I think he realizes he is the starter,” Ohio State head football coach Ryan Day said, via The Associated Press. “He earned that opportunity.”

The junior quarterback is currently third place in the Big Ten with 815 passing yards in three games played. He took spots over Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, Michigan State QB Noah Kim and Wisconsin signal-caller Tanner Mordecai. McCord threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns during Ohio State's win over Western Kentucky. He has thrown for 230 yards or more in games against Indiana and Youngstown State.

McCord and the Buckeyes will have to take on a Notre Dame defense that has allowed 126.8 passing yards per game in four games played. NC State quarterback Brennan Armstrong, a former five-year veteran for the Virginia Cavaliers, threw for 260 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions during a 45-23 Notre Dame win in Carter-Finley Stadium.

3. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka will combine for at least three receiving touchdowns

Harrison and Egbuka both broke the 1,000-yard mark on their way to leading the Buckeyes in total receiving yards in 2022. Harrison currently leads Ohio State football with 304 total receiving yards. The duo leads the team in receiving touchdowns with three apiece. Tight end Cade Stover, who was named a team captain for the Buckeyes in August, took second place on the squad with 188 yards. Egbuka and Harrison combined for three receiving touchdowns during their win over Western Kentucky. 

Notre Dame has allowed a total of two passing touchdowns in 2023, according to NCAA.com. They allowed two receiving touchdowns during their matchup with NC State, one from wide receiver Bradley Rozner and another from receiver Dacari Collins.

2. The Buckeyes defense will slow down quarterback Sam Hartman

Hartman, a transfer from Wake Forest, took fifth place in the country with just over 1,000 passing yards in four games played. The former Demon Deacons has thrown for as many as 330 yards during Notre Dame's win over Central Michigan. He has not thrown an interception in the 2023 season. 

“You can tell Hartman is a veteran,” Day said on Tuesday, via On3 National News Desk writer Barkley Truax. “He’s been around. He’s played a lot of football. Accurate. Intelligent. A lot of good attributes for a quarterback. He’s very good. He won a lot of games at Wake Forest and obviously he’s 4-0 now. Efficient. And I think they are doing a really good job with him.

“They’re running the ball. Running the ball out of various personnel groupings. Efficient. I think just a different style of quarterback than when they has (Tyler) Buchner last year. That was more of a quarterback run, spread run game. This is more pro style.”

The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in passing yards allowed per game with 140.3. Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed threw for 207 yards in Ohio State football's victory last Saturday. Indiana quarterbacks Brendan Sorsby and Tayven Jackson combined for 82 passing yards in the Buckeyes win over Indiana. 

1. Ohio State will defeat Notre Dame by a one-touchdown margin

Ohio State picked up a win over Notre Dame at Ohio Stadium in 2022. The Buckeyes offense as a whole scored 21 points behind two touchdowns from the air and one from the ground. Now-Houston Texans quarterback CJ Stroud logged 223 passing yards and two passing touchdowns. Led by linebacker Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State's defense recorded three sacks and six tackles for loss.

“Matchup games, it really doesn’t matter the score as long as you win,” Day said, via On3 Sports Notre Dame beat writer Tyler Horka. “I get it when you’re playing Western Kentucky. There is a little bit of an eye test there and all that. But in that game (vs. Notre Dame last year), i thought we controlled the ball. We ran the ball well. The time of possession was really important there, and we won the game. In that game, that was the right thing to do. you never know what’s going to come in this game, how it’s going to shape out, what the back and forth is going to be.

“The ultimate goal is to win the game. That’s it. And that’s what we’ll do in this one.”

Notre Dame will be a tough challenge for Ohio State as it works through its 2023 football campaign. If Ohio State can slow down Notre Dame's rushing attack and find ways to pressure Hartman in the pocket, they can take a much-needed win over the Fighting Irish before moving on to face the Maryland Terrapins on Oct. 7.