Blue and Gold Illustrated

February 2016

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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week that he will depart for the NFL after the Fiesta Bowl — was ejected for targeting on the third Irish drive. "Certainly, you recognize when one of the top players is out of the game," Kelly noted. "We didn't change anything in the game plan. We got a little bit of a lift because we had a play that went for 15 yards, plus we had 15 tacked on. "We had a little bit of momentum because of the play." Ohio State marched down the field to begin the second half, but the pos- session ended on an interception by Schmidt. Seven plays later, Kizer con- nected with senior wide receiver Chris Brown on a four-yard touchdown toss to narrow the deficit to 28-21. On the ensuing possession, however, Elliott scampered past the Irish defense for a 47-yard touchdown to push the Buckeye lead back to 14 points, 35-21. "He makes it challenging," said se- nior defensive tackle Sheldon Day, who played through a foot injury in the Fiesta Bowl. "He's a physical back. He makes his presence known. He did some special things with his feet today. "I would say that was the most dif- ficult thing about it." Each time Notre Dame seemed to inch closer, Ohio State answered with a score. "I told our football team that it was going to be a physical game today," Kelly said. "I thought that we handled ourselves well relative to the physical- ity of the game, but we didn't execute as well as we needed to, to win the game. "We couldn't get off the field on third-down situations and had some opportunities offensively that we couldn't capitalize on." Ohio State's seniors depart with a 50-4 record in four years at the school, while the Irish fell short of sending their seniors out with a victory. "It's obviously a very disappointing situation to have guys like this who are so impactful in my life not go out with Although Ohio State played without three of its top defensive linemen, Notre Dame's offensive line still had problems opening holes against the Buckeyes and the Irish finished with only 121 rushing yards. PHOTO BY BILL PANZICA

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