How Notre Dame Football’s 2022 Opponents Fared in Week 4

Here are how each of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish’s opponents fared in week four of the 2022 college football season:

OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (4-0)

After the third-ranked Buckeyes terrorized the Wisconsin Badgers Saturday, I’m feeling a lot better about Notre Dame’s defensive performance in week one.

Pro Football Focus gave Ohio State an 83.3 overall grade for its 52-21 home win, with high marks for offense (87.5) and pass blocking (80.8). The Buckeyes host the Rutgers Scarlet Knights next Saturday.

MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD (2-2)

The Herd’s win over Notre Dame may just be the high water mark in an otherwise confusing season. In a matchup of Sun Belt teams, Marshall lost to the host Troy Trojans, 16-7. PFF assigned the Herd their lowest overall grade of the year (57.8); the lone bright spot, it seems, was defensive tackling (77.7)

CALIFORNIA GOLDEN BEARS (3-1)

The Bears protected home field by handling the Arizona Wildcats, 49-31. PFF graded their overall performance at 78.8, with an outstanding 98.6 grade for rushing offense. I suppose that’s what you get when you rush 38 times for 354 yards.

NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS (3-1)

The Heels suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 45-32 to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. PFF was not impressed with their performance, grading the overall effort at 59.8. North Carolina got great marks for pass blocking (80.3).

BYU COUGARS (3-1)

The Cougars hosted — and defeated — the Wyoming Cowboys, 38-24. PFF gave them a 78.9 overall grade, noting passing (92.8), pass blocking (85.6) and general offense (83.7) being cited as best.

STANFORD CARDINAL (1-2)

The Cardinal are still winless in their Pac-12 schedule, losing 40-22 to the Washington Huskies. PFF gave them an overall 69.1 grade (nice?), but the real surprise was the discrepancy between its passing grade (90.3) and its pass blocking score (31.8).

UNLV REBELS (3-1)

The Rebels won their first game in Logan since 2007, beating the Utah State Aggies, 34-24. PFF gave them an 77.8 overall score, with the defense’s pass coverage being graded highest (89.3).

SYRACUSE ORANGE (4-0)

The Cardiac kids from Central New York continued their winning ways, outlasting the Virginia Cavaliers, 22-20. Syracuse received a 74.4 overall grade from PFF, with pass blocking (84.7) and pass coverage (83.8) being graded highest.

CLEMSON TIGERS (4-0)

The Tigers didn’t cover their spread, but did prevail in overtime against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. PFF gave Clemson a 71.6 overall grade for its 51-45 win, with defensive pass rush (90.2), rush defense (88.8), tackling (88.6) and passing (87.6) being highlighted as excellnt.

NAVY MIDSHIPMEN (1-2)

The Mids notched their first win of the season, edging the East Carolina Pirates, 23-20. PFF gave them a 71.3 overall grade, with high marks for passing (81.7) and receiving (84.9).

BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES (1-3)

The Eagles are looking lost after a 44-14 defeat at the hands of Florida State dropped them to 1-3 on the year. PFF said they played even more poorly than they did against Rutgers, which doesn’t seem possible. The Eagles earned a 58.5 overall grade for this game, with no subcategory exceeding 66.7.

USC TROJANS (4-0)

Caleb Williams lost his fastball, but the USC Trojans managed 17-14 win against the host Oregon State Beavers. PFF gave the Trojans a 72.2 overall grade, with all other groupings falling between 54.6 (pass rush) and 77.3 (pass coverage).