What they’re saying about Notre Dame’s 17-14 loss against Ohio State
In the last couple seconds of the game, Notre Dame (4-1) went from potentially having its fans storm the field to suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Ohio State (4-0) by the score of 17-14.
In this article, we’ll take a look around at what the media is saying about Notre Dame’s setback against the Buckeyes, including Blue & Gold’s Mike Singer and Tim Hyde giving their instant reaction in a postgame YouTube live show. You can watch the replay of the show in the video player below.
Make sure to subscribe to the Blue & Gold YouTube channel here and tune in to The Mike Goolsby Show, which will be live on the page Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
Tyler Horka, Blue & Gold: How Notre Dame football showed it still struggles in big games
Notre Dame fans shouldn’t rush the field when the Fighting Irish beat the No. 6 team in the country. This is the proudest program of them all.
Knute Rockne would roll over in his grave if he knew thousands of shirtless students were pouring onto the (artificial, wait, what’s that?) turf at the house he built just because they beat a quarterback making his second career road start for a team that, by the eye test and based on results early this season, isn’t as good as the ones they’ve had in years past in Columbus.
And yet, as time ticked closer to triple zeros and a considerable share of police forces popped up around the perimeter of the playing surface, which is generally the universal sign for a field storming, it felt like that was exactly what was going to happen at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday night.
The No. 9 Irish would beat the No. 6 Buckeyes and anyone and everyone brave enough to hop the stone fencing in the face of South Bend’s finest were going to celebrate with their favorite players where 60 minutes of action took place over the course of three-plus nerve-wracking hours.
Yeah, well, about that. Notre Dame needed to win the dang game first. It didn’t.
Jack Soble, Blue & Gold: Report Card—Grading Notre Dame football in Irish loss to Ohio State
For the first time in 2023, we have a Notre Dame loss to dissect in the Blue & Gold report card. This is how we graded the No. 9 Fighting Irish (4-1) in all phases of a 17-14 loss to the No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0.)
Notre Dame Passing Offense: C+
There just wasn’t enough of a dynamic element to the Notre Dame passing game. Quarterback Sam Hartman only averaged 7.0 yards per attempt after going into the game with a top-five national ranking of 11.8. He finished the day 17-of-25 for 175 yards with 1 touchdown.
Hartman didn’t throw any interceptions, so he still has a clean sheet for the entire season, but he only got a season-low seven pass-catchers involved. Tight end Mitchell Evans was by far his favorite target with 7 snags for 75 yards, and freshman wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. caught the lone score.
Fall camp starters Chris Tyree, Jayden Thomas and Tobias Merriweather combined for 3 catches for 38 yards. That won’t get it done. The only running back who caught a pass was sophomore Gi’Bran Payne; he had 2 receptions for 6 yards.
The best part of the Notre Dame aerial attack was the pass protection. The offensive line did its job. Hartman and the wideouts struggled against a better secondary than they’d seen all year.
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Douglas Farmer, NBC Sports: One play, one second, one inch between Notre Dame and an upset of No. 6 Ohio State
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The Notre Dame defensive mantra is “One play, one life,” and the Irish defense will remember its last play Saturday night against No. 6 Ohio State (4-0) for the rest of its life. Buckeyes running back DeaMonte Trayanum got to the goal line with one second left to knock off No. 6 Notre Dame (4-1), the last-second touchdown giving Ohio State a 17-14 win.
His only carry of the fourth quarter and just his second of the second half, Trayanum had a clear path to the end zone because three Buckeyes offensive linemen were all able to focus on Irish fifth-year defensive tackle Howard Cross, the left tackle, left guard and center all crashing into Cross while tight end Cade Stover met Notre Dame freshman linebacker Jaylen Sneed at the point of attack. The linemen pushed Cross back into fifth-year linebacker Marist Liufau, all in all four blockers meeting three defenders.
The expected fourth Irish defender was still on the sideline, the defense playing with just 10 men. Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman had noticed, but it was too late to get a player onto the field before the snap.
“We were trying to get a fourth D-lineman onto the field, I told him to just stay off, because we can’t afford a penalty,” Freeman said. “… Don’t give them another opportunity to get settled and try to make a different call. Let’s not give them a freebie from the half-yard line.”
Tim May, Lettermen Row: Chip Trayanum delivers all-time touchdown in final seconds for Buckeyes
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Call Ohio State soft at your peril.
Ryan Day made that message loud and clear Saturday night when he called Chip Trayanum’s number to put an emphatic exclamation point on one of the great victories in school history, 17-14 over Notre Dame.
Trayanum scored on a 1-yard plunge behind primarily left tackle Josh Simmons and left guard Donovan Jackson with one second left to cap a 15-play, 65 yards that consumed all but the last second of the 1:25 left when the Buckeyes took possession on a punt.
After Kyle McCord hit a critical 22-yard pass down to the one on third and 20 from the 23, McCord stopped the clock with a spike, then missed Marvin Harrison Jr. on a fling to the right corner on second down. That left and third and goal at the one.
Trayanum went on to the field, TreVeyon Henderson came off. Then the play was signalled in as Day made the call. Trayanum, who transferred from Arizona State last year with the intent of playing linebacker, was the running back of choice for one of the great moments of truth school history.
