Nine!
The Ohio State Buckeyes held on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish with a 34-23 victory Monday night to secure the ninth national title in their history, and their first since the 2014 season.
Ohio State, however, made life difficult at the end of the match. After holding a 24-point lead, the Buckeyes allowed Notre Dame to get within eight points at the end of the game. Good clock management and explosive play, however, helped Ohio State hold on.
Widely favored to triumph heading into Monday night’s game, the Buckeyes served Notre Dame a football lesson in the first half of the game by scoring touchdowns on each of their first four possessions.
Quinshon Judkins was the main player in the success of the Buckeyes with three touchdowns, 100 yards of gains on the ground as well as 21 yards of aerial gains.
Quarterback Will Howard did well with 17 completions, 231 yards and two touchdowns. Jeremiah Smith also reached the end zone on a pass from Howard.
Quarterback Riley Leonard responded for the Fightning Irish with 255 yards of aerial gains on 22 completions, in addition to throwing two touchdown passes and adding a major on the ground.
Author of 128 yards of aerial gains, Jaden Greathouse caught Leonard’s two touchdown passes.
Ohio State got hot
The Fighting Irish controlled the start of the game, so much so that the first offensive sequence of the game ended after 18 plays and almost 10 minutes of play. The longest play of the sequence was a 14-yard pass and It was ultimately a one-yard run from Leonard that allowed Notre Dame to open the scoring. The Fighting Irish quarterback had 34 rushing yards and 31 air yards alone during that stretch.
-Howard showed his range of targets to respond as soon as the Buckeyes had possession of the ball with four different receivers catching balls. In opposing territory, Ohio State trapped Notre Dame with a fake overhand play that allowed Smith to score a touchdown on an eight-yard reception.
This touchdown put the Buckeyes in the driver’s seat and they took advantage of the second quarter to take off. A series of plays of more than 10 yards first allowed Ohio State to approach the end zone, then Judkins completed the sequence by crossing the nine yards separating him from the end zone.
A few minutes later, Howard completed passes of more than 15 yards to Brandon Iniss, Carnell Tate and Smith to bring the Buckeyes closer to the pay zone. Once again, it was Judkins who made the final play with a six-yard reception to increase the lead to 21-7 with his second touchdown of the game.
Returning to the field after halftime did not change the dominance of the Buckeyes. Quickly, Judkins took advantage of the offensive line’s brilliance to escape the Fighting Irish defense and escape 70 yards, before being stopped at the five line. Judkins then reached the end zone for the third time in the game to make it 28-7.
With a growing sense of urgency, the Fighting Irish attempted a trick play on a fake punt on fourth down. Steve Angeli thought about completing a pass to Jordan Faison, but the receiver fumbled the ball and Notre Dame’s offensive sequence ended.
Notre Dame, however, opened the machine at the right time. With just over three minutes left, Greathouse made a catch and avoided a few tackles to reach the end zone and cut the lead to two possessions.
Then in the fourth quarter, a sequence of six plays and a little more than two minutes from the Fighting Irish created a feeling of concern among Ohio State fans. And once again, Greathouse found a way to signal itself. This time, he skillfully caught a 34-yard pass from Leonard, despite very tight coverage, and then the two-point conversion cut the deficit to eight points.
A long, risky 57-yard pass completed to Smith with less than three minutes to play in the final quarter ended Notre Dame’s hopes. The Buckeyes then made a field goal.
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