Ohio State Rallies Late To Beat Notre Dame
NOTRE DAME, Ind – It's a game of inches. In a game where points were a precious commodity, No. 9 Notre Dame vs No. 4 Ohio State came down to the wire and was decided by precious inches at Buckeye running back DeaMonte Trayanum crossed the goal line to score the deciding points as time expired in OSU’s 17-14 win over the Fighting Irish (4-1).
The winning play was set up by a 21-yard pass from Kyle McCord to Emeka Egbuka on 3rd and 19 at the Irish 22. McCord’s next pass was incomplete, giving OSU :03 seconds to play. He handed off to Trayanum, who scored with no time left on the clock.
Ohio State faced 3rd and 19 at the Irish 22 after McCord was flagged for intentional grounding. McCord hit Egbuka for a 21-yard gain at the Irish one with :07 seconds to play.
Notre Dame led 14-10 but punted to Ohio State (4-0) with 1:26 remaining after failing to pick up a 1st down after the Buckeyes had turned the ball over on downs at the Notre Dame 11. The Irish ran four plays and punted, giving OSU the ball at its own 35 with 1:26 remaining.
Points were hard to come by all night, especially in the first half. A Buckeye field goal with :21 seconds left in the first half were the only points of the half. Notre Dame had the ball for three full possessions and one kneel down at the end of the half in the game’s first 30 minutes. The Irish gained 141 total yards to Ohio State’s 141. Sam Hartman was 9 of 13 for 88 yards, while McCord was 9 of 16 for 84 yards in a 3-0 game.
Notre Dame drove to the OSU 18 on its first possession and went for it on 4th and 1. Hartman scrambled to his right and was initially given the first down on the field, but replay overturned the call and the Irish turned the ball over on downs. Notre Dame’s defense followed by forcing a three and out.
The Irish drove as far as the Buckeye 29 on their second drive and settled for a 47-yard field goal attempt, but Spencer Shrader pushed it left less than a minute into the second quarter to leave the game scoreless.
Ohio State drove to the Irish one yard line on its ensuing possession. Ryan Day opted to go for it on 4th and 1. McCord faked a handoff and rolled to his right and fired for the end zone, but Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed deflected the ball and Notre Dame took over on downs.
After starting with the ball in the shadow of its own goalposts, the Irish managed to get to its own 33 thanks to a 22-yard run by Estime. Notre Dame still punted, but flipped field position, giving OSU the ball at its own 21 after Bryce McFerson’s 46-yard punt.
The Buckeyes took over and moved downfield, converting a pair of key 3rd downs against soft Irish zone coverage. Egbuka had back-to-back catches of 12 and 18 yards to move the ball to the Irish 13. He was ruled to have caught a 15-yard touchdown pass on the next play, but replay showed an incomplete pass.
Facing 3rd and 8 at the 13, McCord fired for the end zone, but DJ Brown was there to knock the pass down. OSU settled for a 31-yard field goal for the first points of the game with :26 seconds left before halftime.
The Irish started the second half with the ball and drove to the Ohio State 39 thanks to four runs by Estime that gained a total of 22 yards. He gained a yard on 3rd and 2 and Notre Dame went for it on 4th and 1. Hartman ran left and was stuffed trying to get around the corner.
It took Ohio State one play to reach the end zone. TreVeyon Henderson took a handoff from McCord, ran left after breaking a tackle attempt by Xavier Watts, hit the sideline and scored from 61 yards away. Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr was injured when Watts rolled into his legs and the All-American candidate had to be helped off the field.
Notre Dame finally reached the end zone on its second drive of the second half when Gi’Bran Payne scored from one yard out in wildcat formation. Notre Dame ran the ball on 10 of 11 plays on the drive. Tobias Merriweather’s 15-yard catch, his first grab of the night, set up the touchdown one play later.
Notre Dame took its first lead of the night with 8:22 to play in the fourth quarter when Hartman hit Rico Flores, Jr with a two-yard touchdown pass for the first touchdown of Flores’ career. The Irish moved 96 yards in 11 plays and took 6:28 off the clock. Jaden Greathouse had a 28-yard catch and Mitchell Evans converted a key 3rd down with a 25-yard reception during the drive.
Ohio State faced 4th and 1 at the Irish 11 and went for it. McCord handed to Egbuka on an end around to the right, but the Irish stomped the play cold when he was met by former Ohio State defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste and Jack Kiser. The Irish took over leading 14-10 at their own 11 with 4:12 to play.
Hartman was 17 of 25 for 175 yards. Notre Dame ran the ball 39 times for 176 yards. McCord finished 21 of 37 for 240 yards.
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