Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ran the ball effectively. I'm not taking anything away from their ability to do so. "But we didn't flinch. That's the mark of this team this year; that they played hard and physical. Regardless of who was out there, they gave us ev- erything they had. "We were a little shorthanded, but they didn't make any excuses for it. They battled. We were missing a rota- tion inside defensively at the tackle po- sition, but they didn't complain. They took extra reps." Notre Dame's defense surrendered 280 yards and 28 points by halftime, and Elliott rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns in the game. "I would say schematically they do a great job of creating challenging sit- uations with changing numbers and unique plays," fifth-year senior line- backer Joe Schmidt said. "You combine that with Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Bar- rett's ability to run the football, and then their offensive line doing a great job all day." The Irish punted on their first three possessions before finally scoring with 7:34 left in the second quarter to narrow the deficit to 14-7. The Buckeyes an- swered with an 11-play, 62-yard drive that culminated in a touchdown on a one-yard Barrett keeper. Notre Dame, however, kept its hopes alive heading into the locker room by scoring its second touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half. The one-yard quarterback keeper by sophomore De- Shone Kizer marked his 10th rushing score of the season, a new Notre Dame record for players at the position. Ohio State star defensive end Joey Bosa — who announced during the