Countdown To Kickoff 2022: Ohio State Overwhelms Notre Dame, 34-20

We’re counting the days until the 2022 season by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

There are many ways to countdown to the upcoming college football season, though none may be more popular than naming the best player in school history by jersey number.

We've decided to do something a little different, though, and will be counting the days until Ohio State's season opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 3 by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

For example, Ohio State scored 48 points in its win over Utah in the Rose Bowl back in January. That game was highlighted when there was 48 days remaining in the offseason.

We understand that this approach won't allow us to do a daily countdown, especially with higher point totals, but we're hopeful that looking back at some of the more notable games in school history will build anticipation for the upcoming season.

With that said, let's continue the countdown...

Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20 - Jan. 2, 2006

Quarterback Troy Smith threw for a career-high 342 yards and two touchdowns as fourth-ranked Ohio State beat No. 5 Notre Dame, 34-20, in the final Fiesta Bowl played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

Smith completed 19-of-28 passes, including a Fiesta Bowl-record 85-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Santonio Holmes and a 56-yard score to wideout Ted Ginn Jr. He also rushed for 66 yards to earn offensive MVP honors. 

Ginn finished the game with eight catches for 167 yards and took an end around 68 yards for another score, while Holmes caught five passes for 124 yards.

"Notre Dame is a fast defense, but when they're chasing one way and Teddy's running the other, they've got a problem," Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel said afterward. 

Running back Antonio Pittman rushed for 136 yards, including the game-sealing 60-yard touchdown with 1:46 left to give the Buckeyes their fourth straight bowl victory, three of which came in the Fiesta Bowl.

Linebacker A.J. Hawk, meanwhile, won defensive MVP honors with two sacks of Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn, his girlfriend’s brother, who was notably wearing a split jersey of the two. He also won the award two years prior in a 35-28 win over Kansas State.

“I’ve been hearing a lot about, ‘How are you guys going to beat a Notre Dame team when you give Charlie Weis four weeks to prepare for it?’” Hawk said. “That kind of upset me because I thought, ‘What about giving Coach Tressel four weeks to prepare for you?’”

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