Chip Trayanum ran for a 1-yard touchdown with one second left when No. 6 Ohio State shocked No. 9 Notre Dame 17-14 on Saturday in South Bend, Indiana.
The final OSU (4-0) drive covered 65 yards and began with 1:26 to play.
Kyle McCord on third-and-19 from the 22 had a 21-yard throw to Emeka Egbuka to the 1 with nine seconds left. Trayanum scored on third down.
Sam Hartman’s 2-yard pass to Rico Flores Jr. with 8:22 left in the game capped a 96-yard, 11-play drive to give Notre Dame (4-1) the go-ahead points and the Buckeyes were stopped for no gain on fourth-and-1 at the Irish 11 with 4:12 to play.
The OSU defense held and the Buckeyes had one more chance.
McCord was 21 of 37 for 240 yards and Egbuka had seven catches for 96 yards.
Getting Defensive
Notre Dame won the toss and deferred to the Buckeyes, who started at the 25 after the touchback. They reached as far as the Notre Dame 45 before the drive stalled, forcing a punt.
On third down needing 6 yards from the OSU 29, McCord connected with tight end Cade Stover for 14. After a 4-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson, Stover had another catch for 8 to the ND 45 but two incompletions, a false start and 3 yards by Henderson weren’t enough.
Notre Dame held the ball for 14 plays and 8:11, moving from the 11 to the Buckeye 17 but Sam Hartman on 4th-and-1 from the 18 scrambled to his right and was tackled at the sideline by Cody Simon inches shy. The call on the field was for a first down but it was overruled by review.
Hartman was 7 of 8 for 64 yards and tight end Mitchell Evans had three catches for 26 yards.
After a three-and-out by the Buckeyes, the Irish from their 32 had back-to-back 12-yard receptions by Jaden Greathouse and Evans immediately followed by a 10-yard rush for Jeremiyah Love to end the quarter, one which ND led in yards 110-36 and had 10:57 of possession.
The OSU defense stiffened and Spencer Shrader missed a 47-yard field goal try at the 14:04 mark.
It was the Buckeyes’ turn to be stuffed when they got the ball back because on fourth-and-goal from the 1, a rollout pass by McCord to Stover was broken up by Jaylen Sneed with 6:53 left in the half. OSU went 70 yards using 13 plays and 7:11.
Emeka Egbuka started the drive with a 9-yard run and three plays later a pass interference penalty on a pass intended for Stover put the ball at the ND 36. On third and 8, Chip Trayanum rumbled for 12 to the 22 and on third-and-5 from the 17, Egbuka’s catch gained 10.
From there, Trayanum had two runs for 6 and Miyan Williams rushed for 1 to set up the ill-fated fourth-down play.
Following a Notre Dame punt, OSU finally broke through for a 3-0 halftime lead on a Jayden Fielding field goal from 31 yards with 26 seconds left.
The series began at the 21 with 3:46 left. Marvin Harrison Jr.’s 7-yarder on the first play was his first catch. Stover had a third-down catch of 6 for a first at the 35.
A deep ball to Harrison resulted in a pass interference on Benjamin Morrison to the ND 48. Facing third-and-7 from the Irish 45, Egbuka had consecutive grabs for 12 and 18 yards to the 15.
However, on the next play it appeared Egbuka made a diving catch for a touchdown but he dropped the ball. Henderson ran for 2 but a pass to Stover was incomplete and the Buckeyes settled for three points. OSU had the ball for 3:20 and ran 12 plays.
Ohio State had a sizable advantage in the second quarter and had a total of 147 yards (84 pass, 63 run) for the half compared to 141 yards (88 pass, 53 run) for the Irish, who gained only 31 yards and had the ball for 3:33 in the second quarter.
Second Half Letdown
The OSU defense continued to shine on Notre Dame’s opening drive of the third quarter. A 16-yard run for Audric Estime helped the Irish get to the OSU 39. On fourth-and-1, Hartman once again was stopped, this time by Sonny Styles and Lathan Ransom.
Then, boom, Henderson on the first play broke through the left side and raced 61 yards, aided by a Harrison block on the edge, to make it 10-0 at 11:14. Harrison sustained a leg injury on the play when a Notre Dame player rolled on his right leg but returned for the next series.
The Irish responded with a methodical 13-play, 75-yard, 7:39 drive to pull to within 10-7 with 3:35 remaining in the third on a 1-yard run by Gi’Bran Payne.
Love had a 16-yard run and Jadarian Price rushed for 18 to the 39. Rico Flores Jr. later made a third-down catch for 6 yards to the 28 for another first down. After another first at the 18, Hartman on second down had a 15-yard strike to Tobias Merriweather to the 1 and Payne scored from a direct snap on the next play. Notre Dame had 10 runs for 54 yards on the drive,
The Buckeyes were on the moving and had converted an 11-yard pass to Egbuka on third down to the ND 28 but center Josh Fryar was penalized for unnecessary roughness, moving the ball back to the OSU 46, setting up third-and-24. A Stover catch got 13 but OSU had to punt to open the fourth quarter.
The penalty was costly as Notre Dame drove down the field, mixing big passes with bruising runs after a Jesse Mirco punt to the 4.
The Irish went 96 yards on 11 plays in 6:28 to take the lead on a Hartman 2-yard pass to Flores with 8:22 left.
Greathouse had a reception for 28 and Evans added 25. A holding call on Davison Igbinosun gave the Irish the ball at the 20. Love ran for 6 and 10 and Estime added 2 more on the ground before the score.
McCord took over and completed a third-and-5 from the OSU 30 across the middle to Xavier Johnson for 40 yards.
After a false start, a pass interference placed the ball on the 20. Henderson ran for 9. There was an incompletion and Henderson got no gain on third down.
Egbuka on an end-around to the right was also stuffed by a group of Irish, including Javontae Jean-Baptiste, who transferred there this season from Ohio State.
Hartman was 16 for 24 for 183 yards. Audric Estime had 70 yards on 14 runs for the Irish.
