Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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carry). What never got untracked was the zone read with sophomore quarterback DeShone Kizer, with many of his 15 carries (for 21 yards) coming on scrambles to evade the pass rush. OSU's quickness on defense was answered with a 12-yard counter by Adams and a 20-yard re- verse by fifth-year slot receiver Amir Carlisle in the second half, but even without three of its star defensive linemen, Ohio State's control of the line of scrimmage had a game-altering effect. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE It was maybe the least sharpest game for Kizer in footwork and accuracy, although he still did complete 22 of 37 passes for 284 yards with two scores. Similar to Ohio State, most of his throws were short or intermediate tosses, with junior wide receiver Will Fuller held in relative check. Fuller did score on an 81-yard catch-and-run in the fourth quarter, but his other five catches netted only 32 yards. Juniors Torii Hunter Jr. (four catches for 52 yards) and Corey Robinson (three receptions for 41 yards) made some fine grabs in traffic. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Two of Ohio State's kickoffs went out of bounds in the first half to give the Irish possession at their 35, but five others saw OSU pin the Irish at their 17-, 13-, 13-, 12- and 10-yard lines. The Buckeyes' kick coverage was outstanding and provided a field position advantage. Twelve-, 29-yard and 19-yard punt returns by Marshall helped set up two OSU touchdowns and a field goal. With three minutes left in the third quarter and Ohio State up 35-21, a Buckeyes punt was downed at the Irish 5-yard line. A 3-of-3 field goal performance in the second half by Ohio State's Sean Nuernberger was icing on the cake. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Ohio State was an exceptional 10 of 14 before missing its last four third downs to still finish an impressive 10 of 18 (55.5 percent) overall. The lone third down it had to convert while building a quick 14-0 lead was third-and-goal from the 2-yard line that resulted in an Elliott touchdown. The Buckeyes converted third-and-three and third- and-six on their third TD march. One of the more crucial plays of the game was with OSU clinging to a 28-21 lead, a five-yard com- pletion to Marshall on third-and-five set up Elliott's 47-yard touchdown run the next play. Notre Dame was only 5 of 13 (38.5 percent) on third downs. ADVANTAGE: Ohio State TURNOVERS Ohio State had a 2-1 advantage, but whereas the Buckeyes didn't score on either of their chances, Notre Dame, after a Joe Schmidt interception, marched for a TD to pull within 28-21. The Irish probably needed a plus-two advantage here to have a chance to win, especially minus junior line- backer Jaylon Smith. ADVANTAGE: Even ANALYSIS There are generally three questions to ask after any football game, but especially those played on the big stage among top-10 teams: First, did you win the turnover battle? Notre Dame did not. Second, were you able to control the line of scrim- mage by running the ball on offense and stopping the run on defense? Ohio State easily controlled that aspect with a dominant 285-121 advantage in yards on the ground. Finally, were you able to generate an advantage on special teams? Ohio State had a far better performance in that area, too. Plus, Notre Dame All-American linebacker Smith's loss to injury be- came more significant to the Irish defense than All-American defensive lineman Bosa's was to the Buckeyes. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI