No. 7 Ohio State 44, No. 8 Notre Dame 28

Q. Brian, it’s been 22 years since Notre Dame won a major bowl. So even though Notre Dame’s offense played relatively well – in fact, it matched Ohio State in yards per play at 5.8 – it just couldn’t do enough to keep up with the Buckeyes. He doesn’t have a Heisman like the other two, but his dominance of the last two years, especially in the postseason has Buckeye nation kicking themselves now that the season is over. Ohio State finished the season with a record of 12-1 while Notre Dame finished the season 10-3. “Obviously their first series was outstanding”.

Both the Buckeyes and Irish lost their best defensive players in the first quarter.

The Buckeyes and the Fighting Irish are scheduled to play during the regular season in 2022.

Still, if the gap between Notre Dame and college football’s truly elite teams is only 20 points, that’s not a very wide one to close. The previous mark was Alabama’s 42-14-victory in the 2013 BCS Championship.

Notre Dame (10-3) was once-again led by talented junior wide receiver Will Fuller.

Ohio State players pose for a photo after their 44-28 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl NCAA college football game.

Knowing that they must answer, Notre Dame put together a nine play, 75 yard drive in just 1:19.

“Expectations were sky-high for us this season, but we came out and played hard against a good team”, Meyer said on ESPN after the game. Had those two plays gone differently the Fighting Irish would have been undefeated and ranked number one. Jerome Heavens had 756 in an 11-game campaign in 1975. His fourth touchdown tied a Fiesta Bowl record that was set by Arizona State’s Woody Green against Missouri in 1972. On the next play, running back Ezekiel Elliott romped through the middle for a 47-yard touchdown. The run by Elliott was perfectly executed blocking up front and by the pulling tight end, and the running back quickly spotted the opening.

Ohio State, meanwhile, forced Notre Dame into consecutive three-and-outs to open the game, applying constant pressure on quarterback and Central Catholic graduate DeShone Kizer.

The Buckeyes (12-1) reached the end zone on four of five drives in the first half, not including the final one when they let the clock expire before halftime. When the Irish crept within 28-21, all the more reason to keep the pedal to the metal. Butkus Award-winning linebacker Jaylon Smith suffered a significant knee injury in the first quarter, then his replacement, Te’Von Coney, suffered a shoulder injury that knocked him out of the game.

Ohio State is what the Irish want to be, but the gap between the programs was apparent in the first seven minutes of the game when Ohio State raced out to a 14-0 lead behind a punishing rushing attack that benefitted from spread formations. Not when Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett passed for 211 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 96 more.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Ezekiel Elliott was Ohio State’s drive capper in the first half.

Quality control coach Vince Okruch (Rutgers’ new special teams coordinator), defensive quality control coach Bill Busch (defensive backs coach) and Kenny Parker (strength and conditioning coach) will focus on their full-time duties at the Hale Center beginning Monday.