Series History Between Notre Dame And Ohio State

A look at the limited on-field football history between Notre Dame and Ohio State

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman takes his Fighting Irish squad into Ohio Stadium for a much-anticipated matchup with Ohio State on Saturday, September 3rd. The hype for a game that was already not lacking for storylines became even greater with Freeman’s hire this offseason, re-energizing a Notre Dame program that had plateaued under Brian Kelly. 

Notre Dame and Ohio State have a very unique history. Despite being the two most dominant and prestigious Midwest programs for decades, on-field meetings between the two programs are rare.

This is a huge opportunity for Notre Dame, who get a great chance to make a statement.

SERIES HISTORY

Despite competing every year in recruiting for the best players in the Midwest, Notre Dame and Ohio State have actually only met six times on the field, with just four of those matchups coming in the regular season. In fact, the last two meetings were both matchups in the Fiesta Bowl. Notre Dame and Ohio State have not met in the regular season since 1996.

The Buckeyes have won four in a row against the Irish and lead the all-time series 4-2, with the last two victories coming in the Fiesta Bowl. Freeman and the Irish will aim to reverse that trend on Saturday night and catapult themselves into the national championship discussion.

RESULTS

2015 – Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28 
2005 – Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20 
1996 – Ohio State 29, Notre Dame 16
1995 – Ohio State 45, Notre Dame 26
1936 – Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 2
1935 – Notre Dame 18, Ohio State 13

NOTABLE GAMES

1935 – Billed as the “Game of the Century” and voted as such by football writers in 1950, Notre Dame’s victory over unbeaten Ohio State occurred in the first meeting between the two teams and featured a then-record crowd in Ohio Stadium (81,018). Notre Dame trailed 13-0 at halftime and 13-12 late in the fourth quarter before the Irish defense forced a turnover, giving the ball back to the offense. With 32 seconds left, Bill Shakespeare threw a touchdown pass to Wayne Millner, giving the Irish an 18-13 win. 

1995 – After a scoreless first quarter in Columbus, Notre Dame seized a 17-7 second quarter lead, but a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bobby Hoying to Dimitrious Stanley with 44 seconds left in the first half brought the Buckeyes within a field goal. The Irish were doomed by three turnovers and had no answer in the second half for future NFL All-Pros Eddie George and Terry Glenn, as the Buckeyes pulled away to a 45-26 win behind 31 second half points. Glenn had 128 yards receiving and two scores while George – who would go on to win the 1995 Heisman Trophy – rushed for 207 yards and two touchdowns. 

1996 – Ohio State started fast on the way to a 29-16 win in front of a sold-out Notre Dame Stadium. The Buckeyes returned the opening kickoff 85 yards to set up a quick touchdown, and the defense harassed Irish quarterback Ron Powlus into a disappointing 13-30 passing effort with two interceptions. Ohio State dominated the first half, outgaining Notre Dame 283-93 and taking a 22-7 lead into halftime. Notre Dame did mount a second-half charge, holding the Buckeyes to just 108 second half yards, but a controversial holding penalty negated Autry Denson’s 90-yard punt return touchdown in the fourth quarter and ended any hopes of an Irish miracle. 

2006 – Notre Dame’s best season in over a decade ended in a 34-20 loss to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. Despite 286 passing yards from Brady Quinn and three rushing touchdowns by Darius Walker, the Irish defense struggled to keep up with Ohio State’s speed, as the Buckeyes used big plays to build a 21-7 halftime lead. Wide receiver Ted Ginn scored on a 56-yard touchdown pass and 68-yard rush on a reverse, and shortly before halftime, quarterback Troy Smith found Santonio Holmes for an 85-yard touchdown. The controversial overturning of a Tommy Zbikowski fumble return for a touchdown kept the Irish from having a shot to tie the game up late in the third quarter. Instead, the Buckeyes were able to keep the ball and eventually scored to make it 27-13. Notre Dame would cut it to 27-20 late in the fourth quarter, but the Buckeyes put it away with a 60-yard touchdown run by Antonio Pittman.

2016 – Notre Dame faced Ohio State for the second time in the Fiesta Bowl after a 10-2 regular season that featured narrow losses at Clemson and at Stanford, both top five teams. In addition to foreshadowing the problems that led to the debacle of the 2016 Notre Dame season (I still have nightmares of the secondary trying to tackle Ezekiel Elliott), this game saw All-American linebacker Jaylon Smith suffer a significant knee injury due to a dirty block from an Ohio State lineman. Smith, who likely would have been a top five pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, suffered a torn ACL, torn MCL, and nerve damage in his knee, and ultimately fell into the second round where he was selected by the Dallas Cowboys. 

Notre Dame was able to make it a 28-21 game in the third quarter, but the Irish never seemed to be in position to really challenge Ohio State, who pulled away to a 44-28 victory.

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