Ohio State too much for Notre Dame in Fiesta Bowl

The following is a review of Friday’s game, the season as a whole and what might still be in store in 2016 for coach Brian Kelly and the Irish.

It’s gone well beyond an aberration or a mere anomaly. Running back Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 149 yards and a Fiesta Bowl record – tying four touchdowns to lead Ohio State, which finished the season 12 – 1.

Since that 24-21 win over Texas A&M, the Irish have lost by 17 to Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl, five to Florida State in the Orange, 32 to Oregon State in the Fiesta, 14 to Ohio State in the Fiesta, 27 to LSU in the Sugar, and 28 to Alabama in the BCS national championship game. However, Ohio State would use a pair of field goals on its next two drives while holding Kizer at bay with three fourth quarter sacks to establish a 44-28 lead and wind down the clock on its 2015 season. When Ohio State threatened to blow the Irish from here to Tucson with a 28-7 lead in the second quarter, the few among Notre Dame’s healthy closed the gap to 28-21 in the third quarter. “We’re arguably one of the best classes ever here”, Decker said after the Fiesta Bowl.

We are required by law to do this whenever the Irish lose a bowl game.

The last two weeks of the season, Ohio State looked like one of the top four teams in the country. And they don’t keep statistics on key blocks in crucial situations. It’s going to let us know what it takes to be a great team. (We want) big names, great traditions, New Year’s six games. The teams traded touchdowns throughout the second quarter to put the score at 28-14 at the half time break. DeShone Kizer pushed in a one-yard run 29 ticks before the break to pull the Irish to within 28-14, creating a loop where Notre Dame was never really out of the game, but Ohio State was never really threatened, either.

The Buckeyes (12-1) were left out of the College Football Playoff thanks to a loss to Michigan State late in the season. “But that’s part of it, great guys are going to leave but you’re going to have to recruit and have guys behind them to make plays and I think that’s what we have here and that’s part of Ohio State”. It was also the last game of his college football career, as Sports Illustrated points out.

“I’m not saying we’re ready to win three national championships, but stay the course”. That misfortune continued Friday and to its best player. I’m very confident in this football program and where it’s at. That is a rough schedule. but I’m sure they’re going to step up to it. It’s going to be awesome for a lot of guys. All-America linebacker Jaylon Smith went down with a “significant knee injury” according to Kelly during the first quarter.

Yet the Buckeyes could make a similar call with the suspension of All-American defensive tackle Adolphus Washington and soon-to-be high first-round draft pick Joey Bosa to a first-quarter targeting penalty. It was his 10th rushing TD, most by a Notre Dame quarterback in one season. After seven inconsistent games, he was replaced by J.T. Barrett, who started four games and was suspended for another after a drunken driving charge. “It will better prepare us for the next coming years”. But here’s where we see the other side of the coin. It’s on defense where the Irish don’t measure up on a consistent basis against the teams that regularly compete for a playoff spot. Inside, they better understand the phrase first used by Raymond Chandler in “The Long Goodbye”: “You can’t win them all”. North Carolina, Iowa, Notre Dame and Northwestern are the bowl teams with three losses or less that surrendered at least 40 points in a bowl game, and North Carolina was vastly improved defensively this year while Iowa was exceptional until Stanford put a pasting on them.

“[Elliott’s] a physical back”, said Notre Dame defensive lineman Sheldon Day. There remains talent, but none quite as proven as those four, particularly Smith and Day.