Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 30, 2023 25 1 Second remaining on the clock when Ohio State senior running back Chip Trayanum scored the game-winning touchdown on a 1-yard run. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Traya- num's touchdown marked the latest from scrim- mage in a regular-season matchup between two teams ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll since wide receiver Michael Crabtree hauled in a 28-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Graham Harrell to give No. 7 Texas Tech a 39-33 win over No. 1 Texas on Nov. 2, 2008. 1-5-1 Record for the Fighting Irish against teams ranked No. 6 in the Associ- ated Press poll in games played at Notre Dame Stadium. The lone victory remains the Irish's 23-14 win over USC in 1973. They tied Michigan 17-17 in 1992, but have lost to Michigan (32-20 in 1942), Wisconsin (14-9 in 1963), Michigan (26-24 in 1994), USC (34-27 in 2009) and now Ohio State (17-14 in 2023). 3 Fighting Irish offensive possessions ended in Ohio State territory without any points being scored. The Irish's first possession of the game went 71 yards on 14 plays but ended on the OSU 18-yard line after graduate student quarterback Sam Hartman's scramble on fourth-and-1 resulted in no gain after a replay review reversed the origi- nal spot. Notre Dame's second drive covered 39 yards on 7 plays, but graduate student kicker Spen- cer Shrader missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. Finally, the Irish's opening drive of the second half went for 36 yards on 8 plays, but ended when Hartman was stuffed for no gain on a fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak at the OSU 39-yard line. 6 Straight wins for Ohio State against Notre Dame, after its 17-14 triumph this year. Ac- cording to ESPN Stats & Information, the Buckeyes record (6-2, .750 winning percentage) against the Irish is the second best by any team to face them at least four times. It trails only the University of Chicago, which went 4-0 against Notre Dame between 1893-99. 6-5 Record for Notre Dame when ESPN's GameDay makes the trek to its South Bend campus, with the loss to Ohio State snapping a three-game winning streak in such contests. 37 Matchups between two teams that were ranked in the top 10 of the Associated Press poll have taken place at Notre Dame Sta- dium, including this contest between No. 9 Notre Dame and No. 6 Ohio State. The Fighting Irish are now 23-13-1 in those contests and 11-10 as the lower-ranked team. 61 -Yard touchdown run for Ohio State junior running back TreVeyon Henderson in the third quarter. It was the longest by an opponent since UNLV's Courtney Reese ripped off a 74-yard run on Oct. 22, 2022, though he didn't reach the end zone. The scoring run by Henderson accounted for nearly half of the Buckeyes' ground production. They managed just 65 yards on their 26 other car- ries (2.5 yards per rush). 83 Rushing yards for Notre Dame in the third quarter, more than it had in the entire game at Ohio State in 2022 when it managed just 76 yards on 30 carries. The Irish racked up 123 yards on the ground in the second half and fin- ished the game with a 176-126 advantage over the Buckeyes in that category. As a result, the Irish also had a decisive edge in time of possession 34:59 to 25:01. 171 Yards on 24 plays (7.1 yards per play) for Notre Dame while possessing the ball for 14:07 on its two touchdown drives on back-to- back possessions in the second half. On their second possession of the second half, the Irish went 75 yards on 13 plays and ate 7:39 off the clock, capped by sophomore running back Gi'Bran Payne's 1-yard scoring run to cut their deficit to 10-7. After forcing an Ohio State punt, the Irish traversed 96 yards on 11 plays over 6:28 for the go-ahead touchdown, a 2-yard pass from Hartman to freshman wideout Rico Flores Jr. that made it 14-10 with 8:22 left in the game. The Fighting Irish's other 40 plays resulted in 180 yards (4.5 yards per play) and 0 points. BY THE NUMBERS BY STEVE DOWNEY 1st Career touchdown reception for Notre Dame freshman wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. His 2-yard grab put the Irish up 14-10 with 8:22 remaining in the game. He is the 10th different Irish pass catcher to reel in a scoring pass this season. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER