SI

Notre Dame’s Questionable FG Decision Left Fans Confused and Immediately Backfired

What was the thinking here, Notre Dame?

Tyler Lauletta

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts against the Ohio State Buckeyes. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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Notre Dame was attempting to mount an epic comeback against Ohio State in the national championship when things fell apart fast.

After trailing 31–7 in the third quarter, the Irish had found the seeds of a comeback, putting up a touchdown and two-point conversion, and nabbing a fumble to steal a possession from the Buckeyes.

Marching down the field down 31–15, it looked like the Irish might have something cooking, but once they reached the red zone, things got wonky. After a run for a loss and two incomplete passes, Notre Dame faced fourth-and-goal from the 9-yard line with nine minutes left to play.

Trailing by 16, and thus needing two touchdowns and both two-point conversions to go along with them to tie, many assumed that the Irish would go for it on fourth down. Instead, head coach Marcus Freeman sent out the field goal unit.

The decision left fans confused, and adding insult to injury, Notre Dame missed the kick with a loud doink.

Fans immediately roasted Notre Dame’s decision, and chalked the miss up to a “ball don’t lie” moment.

After leaving the drive without any points, the Notre Dame defense came up with a big stop to force Ohio State’s first punt of the game, giving their offense back possession with six minutes to play still trailing 31-15. Riley Leonard found Jaden Greathouse for a touchdown, and a two-point conversion cut the lead to eight.

One decision does not make or break a football game, but it sure felt like an odd move in the moment.

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Tyler Lauletta
TYLER LAULETTA

Tyler Lauletta is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News Team/team at Sports Illustrated. Before joining SI, he covered sports for nearly a decade at Business Insider, and helped design and launch the OffBall newsletter. He is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia, and remains an Eagles and Phillies sicko. When not watching or blogging about sports, Tyler can be found scratching his dog behind the ears.

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