Notre Dame Offensive Players to Watch vs. Ohio State

If the Ohio State Buckeyes are going to beat Notre Dame, they are going to have to stop these three players.

Who are the three players to watch on offense for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Saturday?

Like the Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame will look different on offense on Saturday compared to a year ago. The Irish will have a new starting quarterback like the Buckeyes and will be without their top play-maker Michael Mayer from last season. 

However, for a Buckeyes defense that has allowed just two touchdowns through three games, that doesn't mean stopping the Irish's offense will be any easier.

QB Sam Hartman 

Four games into his tenure as the starting quarterback, Hartman is off to a hot start as he has thrown for 1,061 yards and 13 touchdowns while completing 71.1 percent of his passes. Hartman's strong play has seen the Irish offense score over 40 points in each win.

The ex-Demon Deacon left the ACC as one of the best signal-callers after throwing for 12,967 yards and 110 touchdowns after five seasons at Wake Forest. In fact, Hartman is second in the ACC record books for passing yards all-time, only behind NC State's Philip Rivers.

The new Irish quarterback boasts plenty of collegiate experience and will surely be looking to add his name to the list of Fighting Irish signal-callers to have beaten the Buckeyes. 

RB Audric Estime

Notre Dame returns their leading rusher from a season ago, Audric Estime, who broke out as a sophomore for the Irish, rushing for 920 yards and 11 touchdowns on 156 carries.

Despite the Irish not being able to run on the Buckeyes last fall - the ground game was limited to just 76 yards - they finished 35th nationally in rushing offense with 2,458 yards. This means that while a large focus of the Irish's offense will be on the passing game and Hartman, they will try and pound the rock as teams have successfully done in the past against Ohio State.

Both losses for the Buckeyes last season happened against opponents who averaged over five yards a carry. 

WR Jayden Thomas

This spot would've undoubtedly been occupied by tight end Michael Mayer a year ago. Still, he is now in the NFL as a member of the Las Vegas Raiders, much to the relief of Buckeyes' defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. 

Instead, now, on Saturday, the Buckeyes' defense will look to shut down an Irish passing attack that doesn't necessarily have a standout No. 1 option out wide. Chris Tyree is currently their leading receiver with 216 yards on eight receptions, while Thomas sits at 188 yards on a team-high 12 receptions.