Tag: Jayden Fielding

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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Notre Dame vs. Ohio State: Third-Quarter Analysis

It’s not over yet, but the Irish better do something quickly.

If Notre Dame wants to win the College Football Playoff title game over Ohio State now, it better make its move quickly. Only 15 minutes remain, and the third quarter showed the Irish are no closer to slowing down the Buckeyes. They trail, 31-15.

Any hopes of the Irish seizing momentum after halftime were snuffed out on the second play of the quarter, which saw Quinshon Judkins run for 70 yards. Three plays later, Judkins had his fourth touchdown since the Irish had gotten a first down when he ran into the end zone from right next to the goal line.

On the Irish’s first possession of the second half, they promptly turned the ball over on downs after [autotag]Jordan Faison[/autotag] couldn’t handle a fourth-down pass from [autotag]Steve Angeli[/autotag]. That set the Buckeyes up in good field position, but to the Irish’s credit, they allowed only one first down this time. Still, the Buckeyes added onto their lead when Jayden Fielding kicked a 46-yard field goal.

The Irish finally broke their first-down drought when they took the ball back, albeit on a third-down pass interference call. But that proved to at least momentarily spark something within the Irish’s offense as it moved the ball better than it had since the opening drive.

This particular drive culminated with [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag]’s pass to [autotag]Jaden Greathouse[/autotag], who had enough space to score a 34-yard touchdown. Leonard then threw a short pass to [autotag]Jeremiyah Love[/autotag] for the two-point conversion. Just like that, the Irish had life again.

The momentum was snuffed out on the next possession though when [autotag]RJ Obe[/autotag]n was penalized for roughing the passer. The Buckeyes already were starting to drive, and this put them in Irish territory. That’s where we stand, and the Irish are in trouble.

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