There’s a history of Cincinnati influence in South Bend, including Kelly, who spent three seasons with the Bearcats before taking the Notre Dame job. A year before Kelly poached Freeman, he hired Bearcats defensive backs coach Mike Mickens, a Cincinnati alum who was a teammate of Freeman’s at Wayne High School outside of Dayton.

In a chess match between two quality staffs, these three matchups will be pivotal in deciding the winner of Ohio State vs. Notre Dame football.

After defeating Texas in the 2025 Cotton Bowl, Ohio State advanced to the 2025 College Football Championship game vs. Notre Dame. Here's how to watch.

Notre Dame faces daunting odds in the CFP National Championship against Ohio State. Here’s what it will take to pull off the upset.

Ohio State is fully capable of making Notre Dame pay for its mistakes, but it doesn’t force nearly as many turnovers and commits more on offense as well. The Buckeyes are tied for 54th in the FBS in takeaways (19) and rank 44th in turnover margin (plus-four), which bodes well for the Irish.

Entering the season, Freeman was essentially nowhere to be found on national lists. What a change he has made for both the Irish and himself.

Say Marcus Freeman does take an NFL job. Who are the first calls you make to find his replacement at Notre Dame?

Before he arrived in South Bend, Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was not himself part of the Catholic faith, even though Notre Dame is a private, Catholic university. But less than a year after becoming the head coach at Notre Dame,