Rece Davis identifies Notre Dame rally as biggest surprise from national championship

It wasn’t Ohio State‘s victory that surprised Rece Davis the most in the National Championship. It was the way Notre Dame fought back against the Buckeyes. During an episode of the ESPN College GameDay Podcast last week, Davis explained his reasoning.

“Some of it was aided by Ohio State, but the biggest surprise that I had was that Notre Dame got back into the game,” Davis said. “To their credit, [they] fought their tails off, never quit, which was a great reflection of their character and their leadership from Marcus Freeman.

“But in the end, it was largely as scripted, with the Buckeyes dotting that ‘I’ in script Ohio, pun intended, and winning the national championship.”

After trailing Ohio State 21-7 at halftime, Notre Dame could’ve easily rolled over. After all, the Fighting Irish entered the game as heavy underdogs and, frankly, the game was going as most fans expected it to.

But then, something special happened. Following another Ohio State TD to start the second half, Notre Dame gradually began to show signs of life, scoring a touchdown with just over three minutes left in the third quarter to cut OSU’s lead to 31-15.

Ohio State added to the drama by fumbling and punting on its next two drives, allowing the Fighting Irish to hang around. Notre Dame took advantage of the opportunity, punching in another score with 4:15 remaining in the fourth quarter.

While Notre Dame’s fight was admirable, it ultimately couldn’t land a knockout blow. Ohio State kicked in a field goal on the next possession, securing an 11-point lead and walking away victorious. Nonetheless, the image of the Fighting Irish going down swinging won’t disappear from college football fans’ minds anytime soon.

Earlier this month, ESPN’s Pete Thamel discussed how Marcus Freeman has helped revitalize Notre Dame’s image.

“They have stars coming back,” Thamel said. “Their corners are young. Jeremiyah Love could be one of the faces of college football next year. They’re going to figure something out at quarterback. That’s going to be a little bit of a question, but their whole O-line, essentially, is going to come back.

“They had a bunch of guys that played because of injuries like that’s going to be a really good college football team next year and for the foreseeable future. And I think this season and postseason, Marcus Freeman has established himself as one of the faces of the future. They will be title contenders. They will be consistent playoff contenders. And he’s made Notre Dame cool.”