Friday’s game wasn’t exactly how the Notre Dame faithful wanted to start 2016, but with a final record of 10-3, we should be tremendously proud of Team 127 and everything they’ve accomplished this year. Between injuries both new and old (Jaylon Smith, Te’von Coney, KeiVarae Russell, Devin Butler, Shaun Crawford, Drue Tranquill, Avery Sebastian, Sheldon Day, and Daniel Cage) and suspensions (Max Redfield: repeatedly missing curfew, Jerry Tillery); the Ohio State Buckeyes were just too much for the men left standing on the Fighting Irish squad to handle. How did the Notre Dame defense perform against the Ohio State Buckeyes? Lets have a look!
Ohio State wide receiver Michael Thomas (3) scores a 15 yard touchdown as Notre Dame cornerback Nick Watkins (21) defends. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
The Notre Dame defense allowed Ohio State’s offense 27 first downs (in comparison, Ohio State’s defense allowed Notre Dame’s offense 24 first downs). The Fighting Irish defense struggled all day to stop Ohio State’s offense, allowing the Buckeyes 287 net yards rushing and 211 net yards passing. The Notre Dame defense allowed the Ohio State offense to convert on third down 10 of 18 times (0.556) and on fourth down 1 of 1 times (1.000). Two Notre Dame defenders (Trumbetti and Onwualu) were able to sack the Ohio State quarterback for a total loss of 11 yards (in comparison, three Ohio State defenders sacked Kizer a combined four times for a total loss of 25 yards). All things considered, time of possession in this game was fairly even, with Ohio State’s offense having the ball for 33:36 minutes and Notre Dame’s offense having the ball for 26:24 minutes.
| Team Totals | ND | OhioSt |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 24 | 27 |
| Net Yards Rushing | 117 | 287 |
| Net Yards Passing | 285 | 211 |
| Total Offense Yards | 402 | 498 |
| Fumbles: Number-Lost | 1 – 1 | 1 – 0 |
| Penalties: Number-Yards | 3 – 20 | 4 – 45 |
| Punts – Yards | 6 – 289 | 3 – 124 |
| Possession Time | 26:24 | 33:36 |
| Third-Down Conversions | 6 of 13 (0.462) | 10 of 18 (0.556) |
| Fourth-Down Conversions | 1 of 1 (1.000) | 1 of 1 (1.000) |
| Sacks By: Number-Yards | 2-11 | 4-25 |
| Field Goals | 0-0 (0) | 3-3 (1.000) |
Buckeyes running back Ezekiel Elliott (15) carries the ball as Notre Dame safety Elijah Shumate (22), cornerback Matthias Farley (41) and cornerback Cole Luke (36) defend. Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
How did the team perform on an individual basis? Jaylon Smith finished his Butkus Award-winning season with 114 tackles. He was the first Irish player with consecutive 100-tackle seasons since fellow Notre Dame Butkus Award winner Manti Te’o (2010-12). Joe Schmidt also went out with a bang with 10 solo tackles, three assists and one interception. This was Joe Schmidt’s first interception of the season and the third of his career on Ohio State’s first drive of the third quarter. Elijah Shumate had nine solo tackles and four assists, Jarrett Grace had eight solo tackles and one assist, Matthias Farley had seven solo tackles and one assist, Cole Luke had six solo tackles, Isaac Rochell had three solo tackles and two assists, Romeo Okwara had three solo tackles and two assists, Sheldon Day had four solo tackles and two break ups, and Trumbetti had four solo tackles and one sack for a loss of six yards.
| ## | Notre Dame | Solo | Ast | Total | TFL/Yds | FF | FR-Yds | Int-Yds | BrUp | Blkd | Sack/Yds | QBH |
| 38 | Schmidt, Joe | 10 | 3 | 13 | 1.0/1 | . | . | 1-21 | . | . | . | . |
| 22 | SHUMATE, Elijah | 9 | 4 | 13 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 59 | Grace, Jarrett | 8 | 1 | 9 | 1.0/7 | . | . | . | . | . | . | 1 |
| 41 | FARLEY,Matthias | 7 | 1 | 8 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 36 | Luke, Cole | 6 | . | 6 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 90 | Rochell, Isaac | 3 | 2 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 45 | Okwara, Romeo | 3 | 2 | 5 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 91 | Day, Sheldon | 4 | . | 4 | 1.0/1 | 1 | . | . | 2 | . | . | . |
| 98 | TRUMBETTI, A. | 4 | . | 4 | 2.0/8 | . | . | . | . | . | 1.0/6 | 2 |
| 21 | Watkins, Nick | 3 | . | 3 | . | . | . | . | 1 | . | . | . |
| 17 | Onwualu, James | 2 | . | 2 | 1.0/5 | . | . | . | . | . | 1.0/5 | . |
| 9 | Smith, Jaylon | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 29 | Baratti, Nicky | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 31 | Turner, John | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 4 | Coney, Te’von | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 75 | Cage, Daniel | 1 | . | 1 | 1.0/2 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 85 | Newsome, Tyler | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 16 | HUNTER JR,Torii | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 44 | Randolph, Doug | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 7 | Fuller, Will | 1 | . | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
| 55 | BONNER, J. | . | 1 | 1 | . | . | . | . | . | . | . | . |
Sheldon Day: I would say Ezekiel Elliott. He makes it challenging. He’s a physical back. He makes his presence known. He did some special things with his feet today. I would say that was the most difficult thing about it.
Joe Schmidt I would say schematically they do a great job of creating challenging situations with changing numbers and unique plays. You combine that with Ezekiel Elliott and J.T. Barrett’s ability to run the football, then their offensive line doing a great job all day.
So I would say their back is very talented. But they did a great job scheming, especially early on. They had some good plays.
Coach Kelly: Yeah, I’ll reiterate what I said to them in our mental edge meeting. I felt like, you know, this game would ultimately be decided on who was tougher and who was more physical. We didn’t get out-toughed. They ran the ball effectively. I’m not taking anything away from their ability to do so.
But we didn’t flinch. That’s the mark of this team this year, that they played hard and physical. Regardless of who was out there, they gave us everything they had. We were a little shorthanded, but they didn’t make any excuses for it. They battled. We were missing a rotation inside defensively at the tackle position, but they didn’t complain. They took extra reps.
That’s the mark of a group that just has bought in to do whatever is necessary to win.
Q. For the seniors, what has your time at Notre Dame meant to you?
Nick Martin: It’s been very special. Went above and beyond expectations coming in. These four years have been unbelievable.
This team, I couldn’t be more proud or honored to be part of this team. Selfless guys that really care about everyone else more than themselves.
Joe Schmidt Yeah, you know, I kind of echo that sentiment from Nick. There’s no guys I’d rather play this game with. It didn’t matter if it was practice, a game, doing the program in the off-season. I’ve never had more fun. This last five years has been just a remarkable experience. I wouldn’t trade it for absolutely anything in the world.
Sheldon Day: I would definitely say I would reiterate what everybody said. It’s been a special year for everybody. Just going through these four years with these guys, it’s been fun grinding with them. Most people can’t say that. We definitely enjoyed the process. Wouldn’t change it for the world.
No, it wasn’t the win we wanted.
No, we still can’t win a bowl game on a big stage. (Though we’re getting closer.)
Yes, the defense still has a long way to go.
No, our defense is not as good as Ohio State’s defense.
Yes, Jaylon Smith’s injury is an absolutely heart breaking way to begin 2016.
Even despite all of these hurdles we’re going to inevitably have to climb in 2016, I must say I’m extremely proud of Team 127 and all they’ve accomplished this year … “what though the odds.”
Okay, time to reload and reset. Who’s ready for Team 128?
Cheers & GO IRISH!
Her Loyal ... Daughter
Lisa Kelly is a multidimensional marketing professional. She has over two decades of marketing experience and earned a bachelor of business administration and marketing from the University of Notre Dame (Class of 1993 ... Siegfried Hall!). She is a Digital Publishing Manager by day and by night is writing her third book, a continuation of "Echoes From the End Zone: The Men We Became" and its sequel "The Men We Became: MORE Echoes From the End Zone." In 2012, Lisa was crowned the "Biggest Fan of the Big East" in a blogging and social media contest, representing Notre Dame.
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FYI – I don’t get ESPN so I didn’t see the game.
I read that Smith’s injury cam when he was pushed to the ground after the play was ended. By a former ND recruit makes it that much worse. Did anyone come to his defense?
Football games are won up front and ND was dominated on both sides, and the fact is that we got our butts kicked. Spare me the softsoaping.
The story is told that after ND got a butt-kicking in their 1987 Bowl Game at the hands of Texas A&M then Freshman Chris Zorich sat in the locker room and cried tears of frustration and rage. Lou Holtz noticed that. The next year we won the whole thing, and I have to believe that the underclassmen that year kept that A&M game in their minds when they were doing their training through the winter and did a few extra reps, a few extra laps, to get ready for the next season.
Sorry to be so nasty but we got our butts kicked and it could be argued that we didn’t belong on the field with OSU – they’ve owned us in the last 4 games. (We haven’t beaten them for 70 years)
This team had tons of talent, but I didn’t see any attitude, I didn’t see any nasty, I didn’t see anything that would give their opponents anything to respect, let alone fear.
Prior to the bowl game, I’d have said we deserved to be on the same field as OSU. One could easily argue that ND was on equal footing with Clemson, as their head-to-head matchup demonstrated. Records & rankings both indicate that OSU and ND were well-matched.
I’m no expert in discerning whether a team is ill-prepared or is simply outmatched. In either case, I’d wager that Iowa and Michigan State have far more to worry about in the “getting dominated” department.
I take it you’re referring to the fact that both Big 10 teams Iowa and MSU also got dominated – in big bowls.
I’m not talking about them – I’m talking about Notre Dame getting dominated by Ohio State. They own us – 4 out of 4.
Well hello there, Terry.
A few points from me:
1. We played a one loss Ohio State team who was the defending national champion. Whose final record was 12-1.
2. We were missing 11 players on defense: Jaylon Smith, Te’von Coney, KeiVarae Russell, Devin Butler, Shaun Crawford, Drue Tranquill, Avery Sebastian, Sheldon Day, Daniel Cage, Max Redfield, and Jerry Tillery
3. We lost to Ohio State by 16 points … not a blow out and not an ass kicking in my book.
4. We finished the season 10-3 with our backup quarterback.
So please, as someone who didn’t even watch the game, tell me what I’m missing here, Terry.
And in regards to Jaylon, injuries are part of the game. If you are on the field, you are at risk. You must be aware of your surroundings at all time. It was heartbreaking, no doubt, but it is part of the game. Plain and simple.
~Lisa
They’ve beaten us 4 out of the last 4. They were ahead 14-0 within 5 minutes. Did you really think we had a chance to come back?
ND’s offensive and defensive lines were both dominated, and that is where football games are won or lost. That to me qualifies as a butt-kicking.
DeShone Kizer started the last 11 games of the season. Isn’t it time we removed the ‘backup’ label? From what I read he had a bad game, and for that I would submit that
1) He had a bad game – after a lot of good ones – and 2) the O-line didn’t protect him.
Smith’s injury – ‘part of the game.’ I read that it occurred when (former ND recruit) Taylor Decker pushed him after the play was over. Did any of his teammates come to his defense? They said after the game that they were ‘devastated’ by what happened. Whatever happened to ‘pi++ed’? (I know it doesn’t quite have the ooomph of the real word but – feces occur.)
The story is told that after Notre Dame was shutout by Michigan 38-0 in 2003, Ty Willingham made sure that all of his players would remember it. 38 reps for everything: sprints, lifts, you name it. That wasn’t going to happen again.
Notre Dame upset Michigan the next season 28-20 at ND Stadium.
The Irish finished 6-5 that season. Ty was fired and the Irish’s final act of 2004 was losing the Insight Bowl to Oregon State to finish 6-6.
If those underclassmen don’t keep the OSU game on their minds every time they do their training this off-season nothing will change next season.
Lisa – if they do 16 extra reps of everything for every point will you be ok with that?
Terry
Everyone – watch a replay of the 1988 ND – Miami game.
This game was essentially OSU’s first string against our second and third. I don’t care how good of a program you’ve got — Alabama would have lost under those conditions.