It's here.

After months of anticipation, head coach Marcus Freeman and the Irish will kick off the 2022 season against No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET in Ohio Stadium. Notre Dame enters the game as the No. 5 team in the country, and according to Vegas Insider, as a 17-point underdog.

While Freeman has marked down those betting against him, Inside ND Sports has marked four players to watch in Saturday night's matchup.

A former Rivals100 ranked all-purpose back, Tyree has not fully found his footing since joining Notre Dame for the 2020 season. A few injuries and playing behind NFL Draft selection Kyren Williams have previously made a breakout season challenging. But at the very least, Tyree has shown an ability to make game-breaking plays.

With quarterback Tyler Buchner starting his first game in over 1,000 days and a shallow wide receiver corps, Notre Dame will depend on Tyree to play various roles.

Buchner and Tyree present a dynamic one-two option strike out of the backfield in the run game. Regardless of depth issues at wide receiver, offensive coordinator Tommy Rees would still almost certainly have used Tyree in the passing game. Now, his involvement as a receiver is even more likely.

On the depth chart heading into Saturday’s game, the Irish listed Tyree or Audric Estime or Logan Diggs as possible starting running backs. However, Tyree is the group's most experienced and game-ready running back. Estime only carried the ball seven times last season, and Diggs was a limited participant for most of preseason camp due to a spring shoulder injury.

In Rees’ first game without head coach Brian Kelly in last season’s Fiesta Bowl, the Irish struggled to run the ball (42 yards) against former Oklahoma State coordinator Jim Knowles’ defense. Though Knowles did not coach in that game, he is now Ohio State’s defensive coordinator and should be loading the box to force Buchner to throw.

Besides running between the tackles, Rees needs to find ways to get Tyree in space to create mismatches and yards after the catch. Notre Dame could also use a few big kickoff returns against a Buckeyes special teams unit that was top 25 in opponent return yardage last season.

The Buckeyes' fifth-year safety will be in the lineup for the first time since last year’s Oregon game.

A leg injury ended Proctor’s 2021 season after two games, and his first game back will be against standout Irish tight end Michael Mayer. Although covering Mayer may also involve Steele Chambers, Kourt Williams and Tanner McCalister, as the expected starting strong safety, Proctor might be most challenged with guarding the John Mackey Award candidate.

Before last season’s injury, Proctor was a 2020 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten selection. According to Phil Steele's College Football Preview Magazine, Proctor is considered the No. 9 draft-eligible strong safety heading into this season.

Against Minnesota in last season’s opener, Proctor earned a 75.2 coverage grade from Pro Football Focus, which is recognized as “good” by PFF’s metrics. He also had seven tackles, which tied for fourth on the team.

Between Proctor, Williams, Hickman and Lathan Ransom, Ohio State has four viable safeties. But if Proctor returns to his 2020 form, he could make Mayer’s influence in the receiving game more difficult than Notre Dame hopes.

After recording 347 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 15 receptions (23.1 yards per catch) in the Rose Bowl, plenty of attention has been paid to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Consequently, Harrison — the son of Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison — has become more of an afterthought. But that might be a mistake.

In that same game, Harrison Jr. also had three touchdown receptions, with 71 receiving yards on six catches (11.8 yards per catch). Although during the 2021 regular season, he only had five catches for 68 yards and zero touchdowns, do not expect him to replicate that output.

Earlier this preseason, Harrison earned the No. 2 spot on The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman’s freaks list. And without former first-round NFL Draft picks Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson on the roster, the expectation is for Harrison to have a freaky season.

Harrison is likely the team’s “X” wide receiver in the Ohio State offense. On Inside ND Sports Notre Dame depth chart, coverage of Harrison is expected to be primarily handled by Clarence Lewis or Cam Hart. Whether Lewis or Hart draws Harrison or Smith-Njigba, the Buckeyes’ duo will be perhaps Notre Dame’s toughest matchup all season until they see USC’s Jordan Addison and Mario Williams to close out the regular season.

The first-year Irish safety is the only member of Notre Dame's defense to have played Ohio State. And he's seen the Buckeyes twice.

A former All-America safety at Northwestern, Joseph registered five tackles (four solo), an interception, pass breakup and quarterback hit the last time he saw Ohio State — in the 2020 Big Ten Championship game.

Although Buckeyes Julian Flemming and Miyan Williams were the only current players from that offense to record a reception/rush in the game, Joseph still faced the schematics of head coach Ryan Day and offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson's offense.

With Heisman candidates quarterback CJ Stroud, running back TreVeyon Henderson and Smith-Njigba, the Buckeyes present one of the most prolific offensive attacks. Last season, Ohio State had the top-scoring offense (45.7 points) and No. 3 passing offense (380.9 yards per game).

Notre Dame cornerbacks Hart, Lewis and TaRiq Bracy should have their hands full against Ohio State's wide receivers, leaving Joseph to primarily monitor Stroud. With Notre Dame's front four looking like the defense's strength, Joseph is tasked with stepping up in the secondary to prevent big plays.

Joseph was named to several award watch lists this preseason, and the Irish need him to make a strong case in those campaigns with Saturday's performance.

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