No. 9 Notre Dame hosts Central Michigan on Saturday and seeks a 4-0 start for the first time under coach Marcus Freeman. The beginning of the 2022 season was a disaster for the Fighting Irish, punctuated by a loss to Marshall in the home opener to prompt an 0-2 start for the first time since the 2011 season.

Freeman’s second year at the helm looks drastically different. Notre Dame is coming off a 45-24 win over NC State on the road to capture its 29th consecutive win in the regular season over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. There was an extended weather delay that lasted nearly two hours, but on the first play out of the delay, Notre Dame running back Audric Estime ran for an 80-yard touchdown. Notre Dame star quarterback Sam Hartman threw four touchdown passes to pace the Irish.

Central Michigan is coming off a dramatic 45-42 win over New Hampshire after a blowout loss in Week 1 to Michigan State. Chippewas kicker Tristan Mattson drilled a 47-yard field goal on the last play of the game to secure the team’s first win of the season. Central Michigan QB Bert Emanuel Jr. accounted for four touchdowns in the victory, but facing Notre Dame will be the biggest test of his career.

How to watch Notre Dame vs. Central Michigan live

Date: Saturday, Sept. 16 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Location: Notre Dame Stadium — South Bend, Indiana
Live stream: Peacock 

Notre Dame vs. Central Michigan: Need to know

Sam Hartman is the answer at QB: You have to go back to Brady Quinn in 2006 to find the last time Notre Dame had a quarterback of Hartman’s talent. Yes, Notre Dame’s all-time leader in wins at the position is Ian Book, who led the Irish to two College Football Playoff appearances, but Hartman looks to be the answer for which fans in South Bend have been…