Notre Dame can’t make up early deficit in 44-28 Fiesta loss

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Ezekiel Elliott bulldozed his way into the end zone in the first half, showing off his strength as Ohio State’s drive capper.

Notre Dame not only lost their Fiesta Bowl game against Ohio State, it also lost its best defensive player.

“I love him. I think Zeke, with all due respect to all the great running backs in Ohio State history, he’s as good a running back as I’ve ever been around”.

The Ohio State Buckeyes felt like they deserved a spot in the College Football Playoff. They may leave the desert wondering what could have been after blowing past another playoff contender.

His final game with Ohio State was spent largely watching his teammates knock off the Fighting Irish on a television by his locker, but Bosa didn’t take any public exception to the call that ended his decorated three-year run with the Buckeyes.

J.T. Barrett gave the Buckeyes some balance, throwing for 211 yards and a score with 96 yards rushing in the highest-scoring game against Notre Dame’s defense this season.

Despite the defensive line’s struggles to contain the Ohio State run game, however, Kelly said he was proud of how they battled through the absences and reduced roles of key players.

For about 2 days there, after Ohio State lost two starting defensive linemen for the game, one to injury and one to suspension, it looked like the Irish might finally have something resembling a manpower advantage for a game for the first time this season, but then Devin Butler broke his foot, Max Redfield broke curfew, Jerry Tillery got booted, and Sheldon Day, while he played, also got injured.

“I thought we handled ourselves well relative to the physicality of the game, but we didn’t execute as well as we needed to win”, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “You lose a guy like that early on, it significantly affects what you’re doing defensively”. The Irish’s other losses were to Clemson and Stanford, both by two points.

The Bishop Luers graduate is Notre Dame’s leading tackler and victor of the Butkus Award as the nation’s best linebacker. Bosa, projected as a top-10 National Football League draft pick, drove the top of his helmet into the chest of Kizer, long after the Notre Dame quarterback had released the ball.

MS 48, Oklahoma State 20: Chad Kelly threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns – three to Laquon Treadwell – and the No. 16 Rebels routed the No. 13 Cowboys in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

McCaffrey, the son of former National Football League wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, set a Rose Bowl record with 368 all-purpose yards.

Kevin Hogan passed for 223 yards and three TDs in his final game for the Cardinal (12-2). The drive was capped by a 47 yard touchdown run by Elliot, his fourth of the day.

Northwestern had its winning streak snapped at five games to finish 10-3, which ties the school record for most wins in a season.

MI played without safety Jabrill Peppers, who sat out with an undisclosed injury.

The Wolverines held the Gators (10-4) to 28 total yards in the second half. They got to within 38-28 when Will Fuller took Kizer’s pass for a 81-yard touchdown. But the tide turned temporarily when Barrett threw a deflected interception on the opening series of the third quarter, which ND parlayed into a TD, closing within 28-21. At one point, Corey Robinson caught three straight passes (14, 12, and 15 yards) to move the Irish right down the field.

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.