Coach Ryan Day said “It’s always been Ohio (State) against the world” and will continue to be that way after his No. 6 Buckeyes outlasted No. 9 Notre Dame to win 17-14 on Saturday at Notre Dame Stadium. Here’s what you need to know:
- Earlier this week, former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz questioned Ohio State’s toughness. Day responded after the win, saying, “What (Holtz) said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio.”
- Running back Chip Trayanum scored the winning touchdown for Ohio State with one second left, extending the Buckeyes’ win streak over the Fighting Irish to six games dating back to 1995. TreVeyon Henderson had a 61-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
- Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord went 21-of-37 for 240 passing yards and zero touchdowns, while Notre Dame QB Sam Hartman was 17-of-25 passing for 175 yards and one TD.
- The Buckeyes improved to 4-0 with the win as Notre Dame fell to 4-1.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
What did Ryan Day, Lou Holtz say?
On the field after Ohio State’s last-second win, Day became emotional, praising his team’s “toughness” and calling out Holtz, who said on Friday’s “The Pat McAfee Show” that “Notre Dame is a better football team than Ohio State. … You look at Coach (Ryan) Day … he has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice, and everybody beats him, does so because they’re more physical than Ohio State.”
“What he said about our team, I cannot believe. This is a tough team right here. We’re proud to be from Ohio,” Day said. “It’s always been Ohio against the world and it will continue to be Ohio against the world.”
Ryan Day didn't take too kindly to the disrespect toward his Buckeyes in the media.
"I'd like to know where Lou Holtz is right now. What he said about our team, I cannot believe."
🎥 @NBCSportspic.twitter.com/EbfcgfXlun
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 24, 2023
A costly mistake
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman called timeout to settle his defense on what turned into Ohio State’s game-winning touchdown. But the moment proved to be a failure of organization as Notre Dame played the two final snaps of the game with 10 men on the field.
On the first one, McCord’s sideways pass to Marvin Harrison Jr. went away from the hole in the Irish defense. On the second, DeaMonte Trayanum plowed into the end zone with one second remaining, a touchdown that survived a review before it turned into a dagger.
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“It’s on us,” Freeman said. “We gotta be better.”
The Irish appeared to play without a fourth defensive lineman on both snaps, which would have been the role filled by Jordan Botelho or another Vyper defensive end. Notre Dame was out of timeouts and Freeman struggled to explain when the Irish didn’t take a penalty to get a full defense on the field for the most important play of the season.
Taking an offsides penalty of substitution infraction wouldn’t have cost Notre Dame yardage with the ball already at the 1-yard line. Instead, it would have reset the defense.
“Everything was going fast,” nickel Thomas Harper said. “I’m trying to do my job, get the call. In that situation, we gotta do better, players and coaches.” — Sampson
It seems as though No. 9 Notre Dame may not have been prepared for the third-down play that sealed its loss to No. 6 Ohio State 👀
H/T @ChrisVannini pic.twitter.com/IH0D9sTIoK
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) September 24, 2023
Notre Dame’s missed fourth-down chances
On the first fourth-down attempt, Notre Dame tried to get into heavy personnel and hit a play-action pass. It turned into a Hartman scramble that appeared to move the chains only to have the officials review the spot and move the Irish backward. On the second fourth-down attempt, Notre Dame rushed to the line of scrimmage and snapped off a quarterback sneak that Ohio State linebacker Tommy Eichenberg sniffed out, leading to another stop.
Two series. No points. In a 3-point game.
“I mean, anytime we’re crossing 50, I’m gonna probably go for it on fourth-and-1,” Freeman said. “You play the percentages. You’re either gonna be all-in and do it or not. Obviously, when you don’t get it, it’s terrible. But the percentages show you fourth-and-1, across the 50, you have to go for it because of the percentage of getting that.”
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Hartman was pressed on what he could have done differently on the first sneak.
“Yeah, if I would have got the first down it would have been the better thing to do there,” he said. “I’m not sure. Maybe you can let me know.”
One change-up would have been to lean into Notre Dame’s star running back Audric Estime, but offensive coordinator Gerad Parker went away from the Irish’s strengths in each instance, perhaps overthinking the play-action pass (that wasn’t) and getting too cute with the hurry-up sneak.
In the end, both plays cost Notre Dame dearly in a game it had every chance to win. The first died at the Ohio State 18-yard line in the first quarter and the second stalled out at the Buckeyes’ 39-yard line in the third quarter.
“Execute a little better, find a better hole, get outside a little bit better,” Hartman said. “It’s a different ball game, get the first down, the drive continues.” — Sampson
GO DEEPER
Sampson: Notre Dame’s coaches got in the players' way against Ohio State
Ohio State and the QB question
When was the last time Ohio State didn’t have an elite quarterback? There was some concern from the Buckeyes faithful that this year could be the first time in a long time that the team didn’t have a quarterback who could win it. But in the third game of McCord’s tenure as Ohio State’s starter, he led a 65-yard touchdown drive in the game’s final 90 seconds. Ohio State faced a third-and-10, fourth-and-7 and third-and-19 during the game-clinching drive and McCord converted all of them.
Though McCord didn’t finish the game with 400 yards and four touchdowns, he got it done when his team needed him the most. He showed poise on the road after Notre Dame seized all the momentum. Simply put, he won. Ohio State found out a lot about the quarterback leading the way for this program. And what they found out was remarkable. — Wasserman
Highlight of the game
WHAT A CALL!
WHAT A PLAY! pic.twitter.com/YDsDwaKLkN— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 24, 2023
Required reading
- Wasserman: Ohio State has been called soft. Did the Notre Dame win change that?
- Why were college football’s winners so angry in Week 4?
- Mandel’s Final Thoughts: An angry college football Week 4, from Day-Holtz to Lanning-Sanders
- Is Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison Jr. the 2024 NFL Draft’s top prospect?
(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)