
3 takeaways from Ohio State's last-second win at Notre Dame
It took 87 years to get there, but an Ohio State-Notre Dame game finally lived up to the hype on Saturday night at Notre Dame Stadium.
And it may take another 87 years for a game to match this one.
After 5 straight double-digit Ohio State wins in the series dating back to 1995, the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish played a game that was decided by a single score for the first time since 1936.
And thanks to Ohio State’s last-second heroics, 1936 remains the last time the Buckeyes have lost to Notre Dame.
Ohio State was able to run its winning streak over the Irish to 6 games when Chip Trayanum plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown with 1 second remaining, lifting No. 6 Ohio State to a 17-14 win over No. 9 Notre Dame.
Here are 3 takeaways from the most thrilling game thus far in the 2023 college football season:
How do you like Kyle McCord now?
For a good 58 minutes worth of game time, Kyle McCord was getting savaged on social media as being unworthy of Ohio State’s quarterback lineage.
Few people are going to remember those 58 minutes now.
Though his stats were hardly spectacular in the final 1:26 — McCord was 5 of 13 for 73 yards on the drive — those completions came in clutch situations. The Buckeyes converted 2 third downs and a fourth down on the drive, including a third-and-19 that advanced the ball to the Notre Dame 1 to set up Trayanum’s eventual game-winning touchdown.
McCord may lack the pure passing brilliance of Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields and CJ Stroud. But when push came to shove, he performed as well as an Ohio State quarterback has in the clutch.
Lou Holtz was wrong
Lou Holtz hasn’t coached at Notre Dame since 1996, but he deserves to have another loss tacked on to his career record this week.
Holtz made some waves when he ripped on Ohio State’s lack of toughness under Ryan Day.
“He has lost to Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Michigan twice, and everybody beats them because they’re more physical than Ohio State,” Holtz said on The Pat McAfee Show. “And I think Notre Dame will take that same approach.”
"Tell Ohio State they better bring their lunch because it's gonna be a full day's work"
Helll yeah @CoachLouHoltz88 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/40tUXyAape
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 22, 2023
Fittingly, Ohio State ran the ball straight up the gut to win the game when conventional wisdom likely would have called for a pass play — the very definition of toughness.
The Buckeyes didn’t allow a sack, and the Irish finished with only 2 tackles for loss.
After the win, Ryan Day had plenty to say about Holtz calling his team out.
Ryan Day never doubted his team's toughness. pic.twitter.com/bPfyp1CvqA
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 24, 2023
Chip Trayanum is a goal-line horse
Chip Trayanum initially came to Ohio State to play linebacker rather than stay a running back at Arizona State. And he went into this season very clearly behind both TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams on Ohio State’s depth chart.
But on the biggest play of the season, Day entrusted his ostensible No. 3 back because he knew the reality — the 5-foot-11, 233-pound Trayanum is an absolute horse who isn’t going down in the backfield.
Need exactly 1 yard? Trayanum is the Buckeye back most worthy of trust.
WHAT A CALL!
WHAT A PLAY! pic.twitter.com/YDsDwaKLkN— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) September 24, 2023