Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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24 SEPT. 30, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED TURNING POINT It's rare that the turning point of a game comes with one second remaining in the contest. But that's a testament to how hard fought and how tightly things played out in the 17-14 win for No. 6 Ohio State over No. 9 Notre Dame. With the Irish leading 14-10 and Ohio State facing a third-and-goal from the Irish 1-yard line with no timeouts remaining, Buckeyes senior tail- back Chip Trayanum took a handoff and rushed up the middle for the game-winning touchdown that sealed the comeback win for Ohio State. Shockingly, Notre Dame lined up only 10 men on the play, and despite the realization that they were shorthanded, were out of timeouts and chose not to be penalized. Despite running into the undermanned side of the line, the scoring play was close enough to trig- ger a brief review with the thought that perhaps Trayanum's knee was down before the ball crossed into the end zone. But that was not the case and this play became not only the turning point of the game, but the winning play of the game when it capped the 15-play, 65-yard touchdown drive. STATS OF THE GAME As was expected going in, this game — for the most part — ended in a statistical draw. Ohio State won the total yardage battle by a slim 366-351 margin. The Buckeyes averaged 5.6 yards per play compared to 5.5 for Notre Dame. Neither team committed a turnover and penal- ties were also negligible with Ohio State commit- ting 5 for 35 yards and Notre Dame recording 4 for 50 yards. The one glaring difference came in time of possession where Notre Dame dominated the game 34:59 to 25:01. The greatest Irish advan- tage in TOP came in the second half when Notre Dame held the ball for 20:29 compared to only 9:31 for Ohio State. Though, ultimately, it didn't matter. For novelty sake, Notre Dame had won five straight games when wearing green jerseys. But in its last game wearing green against a top-10 team, No. 1 USC came to Notre Dame Stadium in 2005 and beat the No. 9 Irish 34-31 in the infamous "Bush Push" game. QUARTERBACK MATTERS In a game that most positional matchups ap- peared to be equal, one of the more talked about and critical storylines heading into the Ohio State game was the matchup between sixth-year Notre Dame graduate student quar- terback Sam Hartman and first-year Ohio State starter Kyle McCord. Ultimately, McCord got the better of the battle. He finished 21-of-37 passing for 240 with no touchdowns and no interceptions. But his solid work on the game-winning touch- down drive gave the Buckeyes' junior the advan- tage over Hartman, who efficiently but unspec- tacularly finished 17-of-25 passing for 175 yards with 1 touchdown and no interceptions. Hartman masterfully led an 11-play, 96-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter that gave Notre Dame a 14-10 lead. But McCord responded by leading his team on a 15-play, 65-yard touch- down drive — in an efficient 1:25 — on his final offensive possession that sealed the Ohio State victory and gave the Buckeyes their sixth straight win over the Irish. THREE OBSERVATIONS BY TODD D. BURLAGE TIGHT END MITCHELL EVANS The junior recorded career highs with both 7 receptions and 75 receiving yards and became an important cog to an Irish offense that struggled at times against Ohio State. He made multiple third-down conversion catches in the game on both acrobatic one- handed grabs and reliable route running. Evans entered the game with only 5 catches for 63 yards on the season, meaning that he more than doubled his season production against Ohio State. His 25-yard fourth-quarter catch on a third- and-10 kept a drive alive that ended in a touchdown, which gave Notre Dame a 14-10 lead. DEFENSIVE LINEMAN JAVONTAE JEAN- BAPTISTE The graduate student was all over the field against the team he transferred from, finishing with 8 tackles — which tied for the team lead — and 1 quarterback hurry. His most memorable play came in the second quarter on his third-and-goal tackle at the 1-yard line when he stuffed OSU senior tailback Miyan Williams for no gain on a play that set up a fourth-and-goal stop and a goal-line stand that kept this a scoreless game. Jean-Baptiste added critical stops on third-and-1 and a fourth- and-1 late in the fourth quarter, which at the time preserved a 14-10 lead for Notre Dame. QUARTERBACK SAM HARTMAN With 17-of-25 passing for 175 yards and 1 touchdown, this wasn't the graduate student's best statistical outing of the season. But with no interceptions and some critical scoring drives, Hartman efficiently managed the game and made all the necessary plays for No. 9 Notre Dame to at least have a chance to beat the No. 6 Buckeyes. Hartman put the Fighting Irish in position to win midway the fourth quarter when he led an 11-play, 96-yard touchdown drive that gave the Irish a 14-10 lead. Unfortunately, he had to watch helplessly from sideline when the Buckeyes drove for the game- winning score. GAME BALLS BY TODD D. BURLAGE Junior tight end Mitchell Evans led the Irish and set new career highs with 7 receptions and 75 receiving yards against Ohio State. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER