Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1532365
14 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE AND TYLER HORKA W ill Howard screamed while he hop-skipped to the Ohio State sideline after throwing his second touchdown pass of the day. Howard had just taken a snap late in the second quarter, looked left and feigned a scramble to his right. As soon as he drew two young Notre Dame line- backers toward him, he dropped a throw right over their heads. Junior running back Quinshon Judkins caught it for his and Howard's second touchdown of the night, putting the Buckeyes up 21-7 in the national championship game. The Irish jogged into the halftime locker room with expressionless faces while the Buckeyes fired up their crowd. When they returned, they gave up one more touchdown and eventually trailed 31-7. But somehow, some way, they found new life. Notre Dame built a near-miraculous comeback. The Irish scored 16 unanswered points and closed Ohio State's lead to eight, where it remained until Buckeyes junior kicker Jayden Fielding lined up for a 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. The Irish sent everything they had at Fielding. Despite their best efforts, the ball sailed through the uprights. Sophomore safety Adon Shuler tried to jump over the line of scrimmage, but he couldn't get his hands on it. Shuler stayed down on the turf, lying in devastation until his teammates picked him back up. "You work hard to get to where we're at, and to not get the result that we wanted, it hurts," Shuler said. Notre Dame lost to Ohio State, 34-23. The Buckeyes won the national cham- pionship, and the Irish remain title-less since 1988. "As I said to the guys in the locker room, there's not many words to say when everybody is hurting," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "I'm just proud of them and proud of what they've done." FIGHT TO THE FINISH Notre Dame battles but its magical season ends with a 34-23 loss to Ohio State in national title game Quarterback Will Howard guided the Buckeyes past the Irish by compiling 57 rushing yards while also connecting on 17 of 21 throws for 231 yards with 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER