WATCH: Notre Dame Makes Embarrassing Mistake in Loss to Ohio State

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish certainly found an interesting way to lose on Saturday night.

There are plenty of ways to lose a football game. 

A team can get blown out, lose in agonizing fashion, or simply get outplayed. 

However, one thing that a coach will never be able to stomach, is his team being unprepared. And in the critical penultimate play of Ohio State's 17-14 win over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in South Bend on Saturday, that is exactly what happened.

With just seconds to go in the top-10 primetime matchup, Ohio State had three chances from goal to go to get the win. 

The Irish stood tall on play No. 1. But it was on plays No. 2 and No. 3 that Notre Dame's egregious error came forth, with the Irish playing those final critical downs with just 10 men on the field - including the game-winning score. 

THIS IS REALLY BAD: Notre Dame played with only 10 players on the field two plays in a row to end the game 😳

That’s how you lose a game. Completely inexcusable. pic.twitter.com/P1AcixQ6Zo

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) September 24, 2023

It was a shocking error, to say the least from the Irish. 

Not only did it come from a defense that had held the Buckeyes in check for almost four full quarters, but it came from a team that was led by a defensive guru in Notre Dame head coach - and former Ohio State linebacker - Marcus Freeman.

That's not to say that Freeman is directly responsible for the mistake. 

After all, the players on the field, and the assistants organizing them in and out of the lineup on each and every play, are supposed to know when and where certain players are supposed to be in the game. 

That said, the ultimate responsibility always falls to the head coach, and Freeman would surely be the first to say just that.