Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

Notre Dame using point spread as motivational tactic vs. Buckeyes

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 8/29/22

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are clear underdogs for their season opener against the Ohio State Buckeyes, but they are apparently going to seize on that.

The Buckeyes are favored by 17.5 points for Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium, suggesting that oddsmakers do not envision Notre Dame making things terribly competitive. That apparently works for Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, who made clear Monday that he’ll be using the spread as fodder to motivate his team.

"You said 17.5 points? We'll use that in team meeting today." – Marcus Freeman when asked about playing the underdog role at Ohio State

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) August 29, 2022

Whether this tactic works or not is an open question. After all, Notre Dame probably does not need extra motivation to face Ohio State. If the underdog role provides a bit of extra fuel, so be it.

Freeman has not been shy about his Ohio State criticism in the offseason leading up to the game. There’s the risk that this all could backfire, but using the point spread as motivation probably won’t do any harm.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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