Ohio State Beats Notre Dame at the Literal Last Second

Ohio State’s Chip Trayanum plunged one yard into the end zone with one second left in the fourth quarter as the sixth ranked Buckeyes ralleyed to beat #9 Notre Dame 17-14 in South Bend on September 23rd. It was a last second touchdown, but that one second lasted a long time. The Buckeyes’ kickoff went out of bounds, and the Fighting Irish were able to run a play from scrimmage. They failed to score, sending a shocked crowd of 77,622 home disappointed, except for those OSU fans in attendance who were elated.

It turns out that Notre Dame (4-1) had only 10 men on the field for the final two plays, but that’s how it goes. Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman made no excuses, saying he had no timeouts left and didn’t want to risk getting a penalty in the confusion.

In a post game interview with NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen, Ohio State coach Ryan Day ripped into former Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, who earlier in the week on Pat McAfee’s ESPN show declared the Buckeyes not be physical enough to beat the Irish. Day went a little overboard, declaring it was Ohio against the world, but it was obvious he was upset with Holz and was relishing the outcome of the game. Ohio State has now beaten Notre Dame six times in a row dating back to 1995. The Buckeyes are 6-2 all time against the Irish; Notre Dame won in 1935 and 1936.

Notre Dame dropped to #11 in the AP Poll, while Ohio State moved up to #4. The Buckeyes are off next weekend and return to action when they host Maryland (4-0) on October 7th. A huge Big Ten matchup lies ahead on October 21st, when #6 Penn State travels to Columbus. Penn State (4-0) crushed then #24 Iowa 31-0 on September 23rd. Notre Dame plays at #17 Duke on September 30th. The Blue Devils are a surprising 4-0 on the season.