No. 7 Notre Dame will face No. 8 Ohio State in the College Football Playoff championship game on Monday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
What if they played on Sunday instead? Ohio State and Notre Dame have combined to induct 24 players and coaches into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and their alumni include several of the NFL’s brightest stars today.
On NFL divisional playoff weekend, Washington’s Terry McLaurin (Ohio State) and Baltimore’s Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame) will both be in action. Would those two rather play this fictional game?
So we wondered aloud: what would an all-time NFL game between the Buckeyes and the Irish look like? We stacked the rosters position by position. Can we play this before Ohio State and Notre Dame face off on Monday?
We chose players based on their NFL careers rather than their college experiences. Here’s how those rosters turned out.
Notre Dame offense vs. Ohio State defense
Notre Dame quarterbacks
Joe Montana – A four-time Super Bowl champion is the obvious choice here. “Joe Cool” was 117-47 as a starter for San Francisco and Kansas City from 1979 to 1994 and is regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
If Montana goes down, Joe Theismann, who won a Super Bowl and the NFL MVP award with Washington, will be ready to go.
Notre Dame Running Backs
The Irish are on a roll with “The Bus.” Jerome Bettis has the eighth most rushing yards in NFL history, with 13,662. Ricky Watters rushed for 10,643 yards and made five Pro Bowl appearances. Paul Hornung, the 1961 NFL MVP, also gets a spot in the backfield. Ryan Grant had a successful career with Green Bay.
Notre Dame’s receivers and tight ends
The Irish would go with Tim Brown as their lead receiver. He has 14,394 receiving yards, which ranks him seventh all-time. Golden Tate and Michael Floyd are current options, while Wayne Millner is a Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver from the 1930s.
The Irish are loaded at tight end, with Pro Football Hall of Famer Dave Casper ahead of Mark Bavaro, Kyle Rudolph, Anthony Fasano, and Michael Mayer.
Notre Dame’s offensive line
The Irish have a strong offensive line from every era. George Trafton is an NFL Hall of Fame center.
Quenton Nelson and Zack Martin have a combined 16 Pro Bowl appearances, while Bob Kuechenberg was a six-time Pro Bowl selection who could play any position. George Kunz was a seven-time Pro Bowler.
You’d have depth with Aaron Taylor and Ronnie Stanley, and Joe Alt appears to be next in line.
Ohio State’s defensive line
Competition for playing time in this group would be ridiculous. Nick Bosa and Joey Bosa would lead the defensive end, while Bill Willis and Cam Heyward would be the interior options to begin. Will Smith recorded 67.5 sacks with the Saints.
Ohio State Linebackers
The Buckeyes have depth at this position as well, but it’s a hard-nosed group led by tackling machines Randy Gradishar and Chris Spielman, as well as Mike Vrabel, who had 57 sacks and three Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots. A.J. Hawk and James Laurinaitis would come next.
Ohio State cornerbacks
The Buckeyes have produced a number of first-round cornerbacks in the NFL. Dick LeBeau was the original star. He recorded 62 interceptions, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and was a well-known defensive coordinator.
Marshon Lattimore is the best current cornerback, and Antoine Winfield should be in the starting lineup.
Ohio State safeties
Jack Tatum was the Raiders’ most vicious hard-hitting safety of his era, while Malcolm Jenkins and Donte Whitner had similar reputations with the Eagles and Bills, respectively. Vonn Bell, a veteran safety, has continued that tradition.
| NOTRE DAME OFFENSE | OHIO STATE DEFENSE |
| QB: Joe Montana | DE: Nick Bosa |
| RB: Jerome Bettis | DT: Cam Heyward |
| RB: Ricky Watters | DT: Bill Willis |
| WR: Tim Brown | DE: Joey Bosa |
| WR: Golden Tate | LB: Chris Spielman |
| WR: Michael Floyd | LB: Randy Gradishar |
| TE: Dave Casper | LB: Mike Vrabel |
| T: Bob Kuechenberg | CB: Dick LeBeau |
| G: Quenton Nelson | CB: Marshon Lattimore |
| C: George Trafton | S: Jack Tatum |
| G: Zack Martin | S: Malcolm Jenkins |
| T: George Kunz | DB: Antoine Winfield |
| ATH: Paul Hornung |
Ohio State offense vs. Notre Dame defense
Ohio State quarterbacks
We are confident that C.J. Stroud, who has led the Texans to the playoffs in the previous two seasons, will be the best of the bunch. Mike Tomczak has the most career QB wins in the Super Bowl era among former Ohio State quarterbacks.
He is a backup option, alongside Justin Fields. Joe Burrow, who transferred to LSU, was ruled ineligible for the game.
Ohio State Running Backs
Eddie George rushed for 10,441 yards, while Ezekiel Elliott comes close with 9,130 yards. That would be an excellent tandem to work with, and Pete Johnson had 76 rushing touchdowns. Robert Smith and Keith Byars also had distinct skill sets at the NFL level.
Ohio State’s receivers and tight ends
Damn right! Paul Warfield is present here. The Pro Football Hall of Fame receiver averaged 20.1 yards per catch and was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection from 1964 to 1977.
Warfield and Joey Galloway, a speedster with 10,950 career yards, would keep the middle open for Cris Carter, who is fourth in NFL history with 130 touchdowns.
Bring along the active pipeline, which includes Terry McLaurin, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison Jr., Chris Olave, and Jaxon Smith-Njigba. McLaurin, Njigba, and Wilson all accumulated 1,000 yards this season. Dante Lavelli is another classic option, while Rickey Dudley is the best tight end.
Ohio State’s offensive line
Orlando Pace and Jim Parker are among the most dominant tackles in NFL history. They are the easy options. Nick Mangold was a seven-time Pro Bowler. William Roberts had a 13-year career from 1984 to 1997, and Andrew Norwell is the other guard.
Notre Dame’s defensive line
This is the Irish’s strongest position group, led by two Pro Football Hall of Famers, Alan Page and Bryant Young. Good luck running up the center. Add Bob Golic and Mike Golic to the interior for more depth. Justin Tuck and Ross Browner both had 60-plus sacks, and Stephon Tuitt has had a successful career.
Notre Dame’s linebackers
Nick Buoniconti would be the foundation of this defense. The eight-time Pro Bowl selection helped the Miami Dolphins complete a perfect season in 1972.
George Connor played both tackle and linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1948 to 1955, and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah has been a dynamic playmaker for the Browns. Jim Lynch and Frank Stams would provide depth to the position.
Notre Dame Cornerbacks
Todd Lyght was a key member of Notre Dame’s 1988 national championship team, and he had 37 interceptions over 12 NFL seasons. Bobby Taylor had 19 interceptions in ten seasons with Philadelphia and Seattle. We’ll see where Benjamin Morrison fits in a few years.
Notre Dame safeties
Harrison Smith and Kyle Hamilton are among the best safeties in the NFL today. Smith is a six-time Pro Bowl selection who has 37 career interceptions. Hamilton is a two-time Pro Bowler who made 250 tackles in three seasons. Dave Duerson, who helped Chicago win Super Bowl XX, was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
| OHIO STATE OFFENSE | NOTRE DAME DEFENSE |
| QB: C.J. Stroud | DE: Ross Browner |
| RB: Eddie George | DT: Alan Page |
| RB: Ezekiel Elliott | DT: Bryant Young |
| WR: Cris Carter | DE: Justin Tuck |
| WR: Terry McLaurin | LB: Nick Buoniconti |
| WR: Joey Galloway | LB: George Connor |
| TE: Rickey Dudley | LB: Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah |
| T: Orlando Pace | CB: Todd Lyght |
| G: William Roberts | CB: Bobby Taylor |
| C: Nick Mangold | S: Harrison Smith |
| G: Andrew Norwell | S: Dave Duerson |
| T: Jim Parker | DB: Kyle Hamilton |
| ATH: Paul Warfield |
Special teams
Notre Dame special teams
John Carney had a 23-year career that stretched from 1988-2010 and ranks fifth in NFL history with 2,062 points. Craig Hentrich averaged 42.9 yards per punt through a 16-year career, and Rocket Ismail averaged 21.4 yards per kickoff return.
Ohio State special teams
Lou Groza is in the Pro Football Hall of Famer who can also play offensive line, and Mike Nugent can also be used as a more-modernized kicker.
Tom Tupa averaged 43.4 yards per punt through a 16-year career, and Ted Ginn Jr. had seven return TDs between kickoff and punts. Notre Dame fans remember Ginn well from the 2006 Fiesta Bowl.
| NOTRE DAME S/T | OHIO STATE S/T |
| K: John Carney | K: Mike Nugent |
| P: Craig Hentrich | P: Tom Tupa |
| KR: Rocket Ismail | KR: Ted Ginn Jr. |
