Ohio State vs. Notre Dame highlights: Buckeyes win 34-23, claim 9th national title

4Q: 0:26 - Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23

Faced with a third-and-11, Ohio State QB Will Howard threw a deep ball to WR Jeremiah Smith, who came down with the rainbow pass for a 56-yard completion, putting the Buckeyes at the Irish 9-yard line at the two-minute warning. The drive ended with a 33-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding. 

4Q: 4:15 - Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 23

After forcing Ohio State to punt, Notre Dame went back to work and inched closer. On the sixth play of the drive, QB Riley Leonard and WR Jaden Greathhouse hooked up for a 30-yard touchdown, as shown below. The Irish then converted a two-point conversion and trailed by just one score.

4Q: 14:46 - Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 15

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Ohio State WR Emeka Egbuka sliced and diced his way for a 24-yard gain but was then stripped by LB Drayk Bowen, and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa recovered the loose ball for Notre Dame at its own 21-yard line.

That said, the Irish were unable to capitalize, as Mitch Jeter's 27-yard field goal attempt went off the left upright. They trailed by 16 with 9:27 remaining in the game.

For the first time in a long time, Notre Dame's half of Mercedes-Benz Stadium roared to life. A little more than three minutes remained in the third quarter of a game that, to most observers, seemed to be quite comfortably under control. Sure, the Fighting Irish had just scored on a nifty catch and run by wideout Jaden Greathouse, who broke two tackles and juked a third defender en route to a 34-yard touchdown. And sure, the offense had succeeded on a 2-point conversion when quarterback Riley Leonard flipped a shovel pass to tailback Jeremiyah Love. But the scoreboard still showed a 16-point deficit for Notre Dame after the Buckeyes had stormed down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the third quarter and tacked on a field goal shortly thereafter. The chance for a comeback was exceedingly slim.

But a slim chance was all the Notre Dame faithful had to cling to as the third quarter wound to a close. The Fighting Irish defense, which had been shredded for points on all five Ohio State possessions, needed any kind of stop or turnover it could muster if the fourth quarter was going to include any kind of drama. And that's when the self-inflicted wound made things worse: a roughing-the-passer penalty on Howard, who sold the contact as well as he could, and suddenly the chains were moving once more. The Buckeyes began the fourth quarter hunting for a potential game-clinching score. – Cohen

3Q: 3:03 - Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 15

After not scoring on each of its four possessions following an opening-drive touchdown, the Fighting Irish got back on the board.

Five plays after a defensive pass interference on Ohio State, Notre Dame QB Riley Leonard hit WR Jaden Greathouse, who shed multiple tackle attempts and took off for a 34-yard touchdown. Notre Dame converted a two-point conversion and trailed by two scores.

3Q: 7:52 - Ohio State 31, Notre Dame 7

Notre Dame ran a fake-punt pass at its own 33-yard line and was unsuccessful. Six plays later, Jayden Fielding knocked through a 46-yard field goal for the Buckeyes.

3Q: 12:46 - Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 7

On the second play of the second half, Ohio State RB Quinshon Judkins rocketed through Notre Dame's defense for a 70-yard carry, as shown below. Three plays later, he smacked in a 1-yard rushing touchdown, giving the Buckeyes a three-score lead.

Any momentum Notre Dame carried into the second quarter from its eye-catching opening possession evaporated almost immediately, with Ohio State leveling the score on its second play from scrimmage after the break. Quarterback Will Howard, who would go on to complete his first 13 passes in a controlled and confident performance, flipped a short pass to stellar wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on a clever reverse pivot motion that left the freshman phenom alone in the right flat for an 8-yard score. The Buckeyes response covered 75 yards in 11 plays and burned a little more than six minutes off the clock, answering the Fighting Irish in kind.

It was the first of two field-tilting drives from Ohio State in the second quarter, both of which produced touchdowns and quelled any concerns about the Buckeyes' ability to move the ball against a talented Notre Dame defense. An inability by the Fighting Irish to pressure Howard afforded offensive coordinator Chip Kelly the luxury of calling nearly anything in his playbook, mixing up the calls to feature Smith, fellow wideout Emeka Egbuka and both tailbacks at different points in time to remind the world just how talented the Buckeyes really are. The second scoring drive — which covered 76 yards on 10 plays and ended with a stiff arm-aided touchdown run from Quinshon Judkins — pushed Ohio State in front near the midway point of the second quarter.

The shift felt seismic considering just how quickly Notre Dame's offense regressed after its first possession, with consecutive three-and-outs that combined to gain minus-4 yards. When Howard leaked to the right and lofted a throw back over the middle to Judkins for a 6-yard touchdown pass with :27 remaining in the half, it became fair to wonder if the game was over. The Buckeyes extended their lead to 21-7 and would receive the ball first to begin the third quarter. – Cohen

2Q: 0:27 - Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 7

Notre Dame went three-and-out on its third possession, and Ohio State made it pay. On the 12th play of an 80-yard drive, Buckeyes QB Will Howard continued to buy time and eventually found a wide-open Quinshon Judkins for a 6-yard touchdown. Howard had just one incompletion in the first half (14 of 15), while rushing for 26 yards.

2Q: 6:15 - Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 7

After forcing a Notre Dame three-and-out — assisted by two penalties on the Irish — Ohio State took its first lead.

On the 10th play of the ensuing drive, RB Quinshon Judkins refused to go down, smacking a defender through the turf, absorbing contact and powering his way into the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown.

2Q: 14:10 - Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 7

Ohio State answered Notre Dame's 18-play touchdown drive with an 11-play touchdown drive.

The Buckeyes ran the ball six times and threw it five times on the drive, but Will Howard got the ball out to WR Jeremiah Smith, who rumbled into the end zone for an 8-yard touchdown.

During an interview session in downtown Atlanta on Saturday morning, Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden told reporters that the Fighting Irish had a plan for how they wanted the game to unfold, the style of football they hoped to play when facing Ohio State, which entered the national championship favored by more than a touchdown. Naturally, Golden declined to elaborate on exactly what that roadmap looked like, but it became crystal clear from the moment Monday's game began and Notre Dame's offense jogged onto the field for the opening possession: Golden, his colleague Mike Denbrock (offensive coordinator) and Marcus Freeman (head coach) were going to bleed the clock as much as they possibly could, shortening the game and — if successful — reducing the number of possessions that might expose the talent discrepancy between these two programs.

In that mold, Notre Dame's first drive couldn't have gone better. The Fighting Irish inched their way downfield with a marathon 18-play, 75-yard odyssey that milked nearly 10 minutes off the clock and ended with a short touchdown run from quarterback Riley Leonard, who carried nine times on that possession alone. It immediately tipped the scales in Notre Dame's favor by keeping Ohio State's offense anxiously waiting on the sideline. When the Buckeyes finally got on the field, their first possession was still in progress when the first quarter finally expired. Ohio State added a touchdown on its second play from scrimmage in the second quarter to tie the game, 7-7, but the tone had clearly been set by Notre Dame. – Cohen

1Q: 5:15 - Notre Dame 7, Ohio State 0

The Fighting Irish opened the game with a grueling, 18-play drive that saw them convert two fourth downs and QB Riley Leonard run the ball nine times. Leonard then finished off the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.