Tag: Columbus

Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

So close, and yet, so far.

For a fleeting moment, Notre Dame still had a chance in the College Football Playoff title game. In a season where the amazing has happened repeatedly, why not one more such occurrence?

We’ll never know the events that occurred in another universe, but in this one, Ohio State is the national champion after beating the Irish, 34-23.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Emeka Egbuka was on his way to a long reception, but [autotag]Drayk Bowen[/autotag] knocked the ball out of his clutches, and [autotag]Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa[/autotag] recovered it. Suddenly, the Irish had the ball in a 31-15 game.

[autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] completed a 30-yard pass to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], and a couple of defensive holding calls against the Buckeyes set the Irish up with a first-and-goal. Three plays went nowhere, and instead of going for it on fourth down like most teams in such a situation should, the Irish opted to send [autotag]Mitch Jeter[/autotag] out for a 27-yard field-goal attempt. The kick doinked off the left upright, and the chance for points off turnovers was gone.

The Irish’s defense then forced the first Buckeyes punt of the game, and the offense badly needed points to still have a chance. It got them when Leonard fired another 30-yard pass to Greathouse, this time with Greathouse making a great catch in the end zone. Leonard then flipped the ball to [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag], who fired to [autotag]Beaux Collins[/autotag] to complete the two-point conversion and make it a one-score game.

Again, the Irish placed the Buckeyes’ offense in a tough spot, third-and-11 to be exact at their own 34-yard line. But that’s when Will Howard decided to air it out and fire a 56-yard pass to an open Jeremiah Smith, who caught the ball before being stopped at the Irish’s 10. Any real hope the Irish had was snuffed out on a play that Buckeyes fans will reminisce about forever.

The Buckeyes ran the ball a few times, milked the clock, and the matter officially was put to rest with a Jayden Fielding 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds left. The Irish were left to wonder what could have been, and the party in Columbus was underway.

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Select AMC Theatres sites to air College Football Playoff title game

Watch the Irish play for the title on the big screen.

If you want to go big while watching Notre Dame play Ohio State in the College Football Playoff title game, there’s one way you can. In November, ESPN and TNT announced a theatrical distribution agreement with Theater Sports Network. This would allow all playoff games to be theatrically shown.

As part of the agreement, AMC Theatres has announced that the title game will be shown in 11 locations, all of them throughout the Midwest. Given the locations of the game’s participants, it’s not surprising to see the games being shown where they are.

In South Bend, the game is being shown at the location on West Chippewa Avenue off South Michigan Street. Elsewhere, it will be shown at two locations in Indianapolis, one in Fort Wayne and four in the Chicago area. If you happen to be in Buckeyes territory, one location in Columbus is showing the game as well as two in the Cincinnati area.

You probably never expected to have this particular opportunity, but it’s there if you want it and live in one of the aforementioned areas.

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WATCH: Jase Richardson’s crazy 4-point play helps No. 19 Columbus ice No. 2 Paul VI

Columbus has now beat No. 2 Paul VI and No. 3 Long Island Lutheran, with the help of Jase Richardon’s crazy 4-point play.

Just two days after beating the No. 3 team in the country, Columbus looked to do one better against No. 2 Paul VI. The Explorers led for much of the second half on Monday at the Hoophall Classic, but were struggling to pull away from one of the best teams in the country.

Yet the Explorers wanted to prove that they, too, deserved that distinction as a top team in the nation.

Paul VI cut the score to a one-possession game with about a minute-and-a-half left when Jase Richardson caught a pass on the left corner. The southpaw put up a shot, got hit, and made the basket. He sunk the free throw to push the lead to seven, and Paul VI’s desperation play in the closing minute couldn’t gain any more distance. Columbus won 70-61.

Watch Richardson’s 3-pointer here:

Richardson, the son of former NBA player Jason Richardson, finished with 21 points, six rebounds and four assists.

Cameron Boozer, the top player in the class of 2025 and son of former NBA player Carlos Boozer, finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals and four blocks for Columbus.

With the win, Columbus improved its record to 16-4 and now has wins over No. 2 Paul VI, No. 3 Long Island Lutheran, and No. 4 Harvard-Westlake under its belt, setting the stage for a massive ranking jump this week. Paul VI falls to 14-2 on the year.

Cameron Boozer leads No. 19 Columbus to win over No. 3 Long Island Lutheran

Cameron Boozer had 26 points and Jase Richardson had six stocks to lead No. 19 Columbus to its third win against a top-6 team this season.

The 2024 Hoophall Classic at Springfield College in Massachusetts featured one of the games most stacked with high-level Division I prospects so far this season: No. 19 Columbus, headlined by five-star brothers Cameron and Cayden Boozer and four-star brothers Jase and Jaxon Richardson, and No. 3 Long Island Lutheran, with five-star VJ Edgecombe supported by four four-star players and depth from five-star sophomore Dylan Mingo.

Long Island’s blistering start to the season was stymied by Columbus, which gave LoLu its second loss by a score of 81-62. Cameron Boozer led the 15-4 Columbus Explorers with a game-high 26 points in 26 minutes.

Columbus led for almost the entirety of the first half, but Long Island Lutheran snuck a 39-36 lead into the break and maintained that three-point lead through the third quarter.

The Explorers put their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter, though, going on a 25-3 run to take away any chance the Crusaders had at victory. The tough-nose defense resulted in Long Island shooting only 38% from the field, Edgecombe making just five of 14 field goal attempts, and four-star Kiyan Anthony shooting just 2-for-10 off the bench.

In addition to Cameron Boozer’s 26 points and five blocks, Jase Richardson had 20 points to go with nine assists, two blocks, and four steals, and Cayden Boozer had 17 points.

The full game can be found on NBA.com.

Long Island Lutheran now has two losses, with this game adding onto the loss to No. 1 Montverde. With wins against Super 25 teams like No. 11 Don Bosco Prep, No. 15 Link Academy, and No. 23 Mater Dei, the Crusaders remain one of the best teams in the country despite this defeat.

Columbus, meanwhile, has four losses, but don’t let that make you think this victory is a fluke. This is now the third team in the top six of the Super 25 the Explorers have taken down: No. 3 LoLu, No. 4 Harvard-Westlake and No. 6 Prolific Prep. Columbus’ losses are to very good teams: Montverde, Don Bosco Prep, Link Academy, and No. 17 Wasatch.

They’ll test themselves again on Monday when they face off against No. 2 Paul VI.

Scoreboard: Super 25 boys basketball

Michigan State basketball commit playing on ESPN2 on Friday evening

Michigan State basketball commit playing on ESPN2 on Friday evening

Michigan State basketball was able to get a huge recruiting victory when they landed a commitment from 2024 4-star guard Jase Richardson. Jase, the son of MSU legend Jason Richardson, currently plays for Columbus High School in Florida.

On Friday night at 5:30 pm ET, you can watch Jase play basketball on national television in the ESPN High School Basketball Showcase, which will feature a match-up between Columbus and Montverde, live on ESPN2.

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How social media reacted to Notre Dame-Ohio State: Buckeyes side

They’re celebrating in Columbus and beyond.

Ohio State fans were on top of the world after beating Notre Dame on the road, 17-14. No, it wasn’t the prettiest win for their Buckeyes, but none of the details mattered.

It was a victory that they’ll be talking about in Columbus for the rest of the season, if not forever, and Ryan Day lashing out at [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] on live TV was the perfect cherry on top of the winning sundae. What probably will be their team’s only trip to South Bend for a very long time couldn’t have ended better.

Naturally, Buckeyes fans took to social media to talk about a win that kept their perfect season alive. It was the only way they could realistically keep pace with Michigan or at least stay with their big rival in their quest for the College Football Playoff. Here are only a few of the tweets that surfaced from Buckeye Nation in this game’s aftermath:

What the experts are predicting: Notre Dame vs. Ohio State

Who do you have in this game?

Notre Dame is hosting Ohio State on Saturday. Does anything else need to be said? No? OK, let’s just see who the experts think will win:

ChatGPT ranks top 10 quarterbacks in Notre Dame history

Do you agree with these rankings?

No position in sports is more important than the quarterback. Notre Dame is lucky that it will have a good one this season in [autotag]Sam Hartman[/autotag]. Though his services only will be for one year, the potential for him to have a history-making season is high. With that will come high expectations.

But how will Hartman measure up to the great Notre Dame quarterbacks of the past? For that, let’s turn to AI writing tool ChatGPT and see what it believes is a fair list for the top 10 men under center to play for the Irish.

Keep in mind that ChatGPT has this disclaimer:

“Ranking the top 10 quarterbacks in Notre Dame history is subjective and open to interpretation, as different eras and playing styles contribute to individual greatness. However, based on their impact on the program, statistical achievements, and team success, the following list represents 10 notable quarterbacks in Notre Dame’s storied history.”

And this one:

“Please note that this list is not exhaustive, and there are many other talented quarterbacks who have contributed to the Notre Dame football legacy. The rankings can vary depending on personal opinions and criteria used to evaluate their performances.”

On that, here is the list with some entries edited for clarity and accuracy:

Podcast host: Any fan selling Ohio State tickets ‘an absolute loser’

Do you agree with this?

Notre Dame will host Ohio State on Sept. 23 in one of the most anticipated games of the 2023 season. It will only be the Buckeyes’ third trip to Notre Dame Stadium with the only previous ones coming in 1936 and 1996.

With the Buckeyes only playing in South Bend once every one or two generations, plenty of Buckeyes fans will take advantage of the opportunity to see it. But “Golden Homers” podcast host and former Blue and Gold writer Mason Plummer doesn’t take kindly to Irish fans actively aiding fans of “THE” Ohio State University:

While the “loser” label might be a little harsh, Plummer does have a point. The Buckeyes will be in the national championship conversation once again, and the last thing the Irish need is their own fans enabling the possibility of the game sounding like it’s being played in Columbus. If you must sell your tickets to that game, be careful with who you’re selling them to.

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Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann ‘not going to Notre Dame’

Scratch one name off the list.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel recently gave his list of potential names to fill Notre Dame’s coaching vacancy. One of those names was Chris Holtmann of Ohio State, who recently had a streak of 20-win seasons in Columbus come to an end. You can scratch him off that list because he told the Columbus Dispatch that he’s not going anywhere. Specifically pertaining to the Irish job, he said this:

“I’m not going to Notre Dame. I stand by what I publicly said. I’m committed to being here.”

As the Dispatch story notes, Holtmann is a year removed from signing a contract extension that keeps with the Buckeyes through the 2027-28 season. He currently has a $2.5 million buyout, and we have no idea how much Notre Dame is willing to buy out a coach if necessary. The athletic department is just coming off a misinformation fiasco with its offensive coordinator hire for the football program, so it better choose wisely in the event of a buyout.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89