How it happened: Breaking down Notre Dame football loss to Ohio State

After Ohio State senior running back Chip Trayanum‘s one-yard touchdown run, one could feel the life leaving Notre Dame Stadium. Throughout the last drive, the fans in green cheered their hearts out throughout Ohio State’s last drive, desperately looking for a reason to celebrate.

The fans in red got one.

“We got a good football team,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said. “And at times, we showed it today versus a really good football team. And so, you know, to be on the losing side, it hurts. It stings.”

Ohio State won 17-14, escaping South Bend with a win and moving to 4-0. Notre Dame dropped to 4-1.

Here’s a quarter-by-quarter breakdown of how it happened.

First quarter: Notre Dame 0, Ohio State 0

Top Moment: Without hesitation, Freeman left his offense on the field on fourth-and-1 from the Ohio State 18-yard line. Graduate quarterback Sam Hartman scrambled to his right and was forced out of bounds by senior Buckeye linebacker Cody Simon. After video review, officials ruled he was short of the line to gain.

Feature Performer: Notre Dame junior tight end Mitchell Evans. Evans caught 4 passes for 36 yards, including a one-handed catch while being blanketed by a defender.

Stats: Notre Dame picked up 7 first downs to Ohio State’s 2. The Irish out-gained the Buckeyes 105-17.

Items: Senior safety Lathan Ransom and graduate linebacker Steele Chambers led OSU in tackles with 4 each. … Hartman went 9/10 for 88 yards. … Notre Dame’s first drive (ending in the turnover on downs) lasted 14 plays and went 71 yards. … Ohio State limited Irish junior running back Audric Estimé to 4 yards on 4 carries.

Second quarter: Buckeyes 3, Fighting Irish 0

Top Moment: After a 13-play, 70-yard drive of their own, the Buckeyes went for it on fourth-and-goal from the Notre Dame 1-yard line. Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord ran play action, which fooled nobody. He fired a desperation pass to senior tight end Cade Stover, but sophomore Irish linebacker Jaylen Sneed deflected it away.

Featured Performer: The Ohio State secondary. Hartman threw 3 passes in the quarter and completed none of them.

Stats: Ohio State went 4/6 on third-down conversions. The Buckeyes won time of possession 10:31 to 4:29.

Items: Ohio State took the lead on a 31-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Jayden Fielding. … Notre Dame graduate kicker Spencer Shrader missed a 47-yard field goal. … Buckeyes junior slot receiver Emeka Egbuka led all players in yards from scrimmage with 40 on 3 receptions, but he dropped a sure touchdown pass 3 plays before the field goal.

Third quarter: Ohio State 10, Notre Dame 7

Top Moment: Ohio State junior running back TreVeyon Henderson’s eyes had to have lit up when he saw the hole in front of him to the offense’s left side. Henderson hit the hole, ran through a tackling attempt by senior Irish safety Xavier Watts and was off to the races. He went 61 yards for a touchdown to put Ohio State up 10-0.

Feature Performer: Notre Dame freshman running back Jeremiyah Love. Love ran four times for 28 yards in the third quarter, showing off his remarkable combination of size, physicality, speed and agility.

Stats: Notre Dame won the time of possession battle 11:14 to 3:46. The Irish converted 2 of their 3 third-down attempts, but Hartman was stuffed on another fourth down.

Items: Star Ohio State junior wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. appeared to suffer a lower-leg injury on Henderson’s touchdown, but he came back in on the Buckeyes’ next possession. … Notre Dame got on the board with a 1-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back Gi’Bran Payne.

Fourth quarter: Buckeyes 17, Fighting Irish 14

Top Moment: Trayanum ran it up the middle. Ohio State walked it off.

Feature Performer: Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord. McCord wasn’t perfect Saturday night. But he made some incredible plays on the Buckeyes’ game-winning drive. A 21-yard pass to Egbuka on third-and-19 stands out, as does an earlier 7-yard completion to senior wideout Julian Fleming on fourth-and-7.

Stats: Ohio State’s final drive went 65 yards on 15 plays in 1:25.

Items: Notre Dame took a 14-10 lead on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hartman to freshman wideout Rico Flores Jr. … Graduate defensive end Javontae Jean-Baptiste and graduate linebacker Jack Kiser stuffed Egbuka on fourth-and-1 with 4:12 to go. … Notre Dame’s final series of the game included an incompletion on a failed screen pass attempt that Ohio State edge rusher J.T. Tuimoloau nearly intercepted.