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.”
Without a timeout remaining, Freeman had no way to stop the play from occurring. Rushing a defensive end from the sideline to the line of scrimmage would have resulted in a penalty if he did not get to the goal line before the snap. And the Buckeyes would have still had that play against 10 defenders, the 11th thus arriving late. On top of that, enter the penalty Freeman worried about: Ohio State would have had another chance if needed.
The question was not if it would be better to take a penalty and then defend a slightly shorter space with 11 players, but if that 11th defender could get aligned before the Buckeyes snapped at all, because if not, then they would be guaranteed two goal-line chances. Freeman wanted to avoid that second goal-line chance.
The coaching mistake was not in that decision. The coaching mistake was in only 11 players leaving the huddle before the play in the first place.
The Irish used a pair of methodical second-half drives to outpace the Buckeyes for 59 minutes and 59 seconds, two drives that needed 13 and 11 plays, covering more than 14 minutes combined. When quarterback Sam Hartman found freshman receiver Rico Flores for a 2-yard touchdown with eight minutes to go, the 14-10 cushion felt like it would be enough. To that point, Notre Dame had kept Ohio State at bay all game but for one play, a 61-yard TreVeyon Henderson touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Aside from that touchdown and prior to the 15-play, 65-yard, 85-second game-winning drive, the Buckeyes managed only 240 yards on 49 plays, an average of 4.9 yards per play.
“We have a good football team,” Freeman said. “At times we showed it today, versus a really good football team. It hurts, it stings, but we have to own it. We have to learn from it. ...
“Use the pain of a loss to really find a way to get better.”
The “One play, one life” ethos is intended to spark defensive players to refocus after plays, return to showing how good of a football team they are, like after Henderson’s touchdown or even after offensive success. Following Flores’s touchdown, Ohio State mounted an initial threat, Buckeyes quarterback Kyle McCord connecting with receiver Xavier Johnson for a 40-yard gain to reach scoring range. A defensive pass interference penalty furthered that immediate response to the Irish lead.
And yet, Notre Dame’s defense forgot those mistakes long enough to halt that potential game-winning Buckeyes drive. A Jack Kiser tackle on a 4th-and-1 from the 11-yard line gave the Irish the ball with just 4:12 remaining, the fifth-year linebacker not blinking as Ohio State receiver Emeka Egbuka came around the edge.
Initially, Kiser was set to remember that one play for the rest of his life. Instead, Trayanum’s touchdown will be the aftertaste.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Ohio State, but we did not play as well as we could have,” Freeman said.
Not as well or as many in the game-deciding moment. One play, one player.
SCORING SUMMARY
Second Quarter
0:26 — Ohio State field goal. Jayden Fielding 31 yards. Ohio State 3, Notre Dame 0. (12 plays, 66 yards, 3:20)
Third Quarter
11:14 — Ohio State touchdown. TreVeyon Henderson 61-yard rush. Fielding point after good. Ohio State 10, Notre Dame 0. (1 play, 61 yards, 0:11)
3:35 — Notre Dame touchdown. Gi’Bran Payne 1-yard rush. Spencer Shrader point after good. Ohio State 10, Notre Dame 7. (13 plays, 75 yards, 7:39)
Fourth Quarter
8:22 — Notre Dame touchdown. Rico Flores 2-yard pass from Sam Hartman. Shrader point after good. Notre Dame 14, Ohio State 7. (11 plays, 96 yards, 6:28)
0:01 — Ohio State touchdown. DeaMonte Trayanum 1-yard rush. Fielding point after good. Ohio State 17, Notre Dame 10. (15 plays, 65 yards, 1:25)
