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The Notre Dame football team came oh so close to winning it all this year as they fell just short in the national championship game on Monday night. The Fighting Irish ended up putting up a good fight, but Ohio State was the best team in the playoff, and it showed. The Buckeyes got out to a big lead in the game, and despite a good comeback effort from Notre Dame, Ohio State came away with a 34-23 win to capture the national championship. Now the offseason is here, and it's back to the drawing board for the Fighting Irish as they look to take the next step.
Notre Dame didn't end the season the way they wanted to as they weren't able to accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the national championship. Still, this was a good season for the Fighting Irish, and they put up a good fight against Ohio State when not very many people gave them a fighting chance.
After the first drive of this game, it really looked like the Notre Dame football team might have a shot in this one. The Fighting Irish chewed up over nine minutes of game clock and they scored a touchdown to go up 7-0. However, Ohio State started to dominate after that drive.
The Buckeyes quickly responded with an impressive drive of their own to make it 7-7 early in the second quarter, and Notre Dame wasn't able to get anything going offensively in the first half after that first drive. Ohio State got stops, and then they went down and got scores. By the time the second quarter ended, the seven-point lead that the Fighting Irish entered with turned into a 14-point deficit.
Ohio State started the second half strong as well as they scored a touchdown on their first drive, and then they kicked a field goal after Notre Dame failed to convert a fake punt. It was 31-7, and the Fighting Irish were showing no signs of life. Then, everything changed.
Notre Dame scored a touchdown and got the two-point conversion to make it a two-score game, but they were still in a big hole. Then, with just under five minutes to go in the game, they did the same thing. All of a sudden, it was a one-score game, and Notre Dame just needed one stop to get the ball back with a chance to tie it.
The Fighting Irish found a way to get Ohio State into a third and 12 situation, but a deep ball to Jeremiah Smith crushed the comeback effort. Ohio State kicked a late field goal and won the game 34-23.
Notre Dame put up a good fight, but at the end of the day, some mistakes and interesting decisions by the coaching staff cost them a chance to win this game.
There is no one to blame except for Notre Dame coaches
Notre Dame came out and had a great first drive on offense, but it took everything. After that, the Fighting Irish looked thoroughly unprepared for the remainder of the first half, and they ended up in a massive hole because of it. Once they finally got going, it was already too late.
Maybe it wouldn't have been too late if it weren't for some very questionable decisions by the Notre Dame coaching staff. First, in the fourth quarter down by 16 points, Marcus Freeman decided to attempt a field goal on fourth and goal. That would've cut a two-score game, needing two touchdowns, down to a two-score game… still needing two touchdowns. The Fighting Irish weren't getting a lot of opportunities in the red zone, and it's the national title game. He should've gone for it, and then who knows, maybe the next touchdown would've been to tie the game. Instead, Notre Dame came away with nothing after missing the field goal.
Then, for the biggest play of the game, Notre Dame decided to leave Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on an island. It was third and 12 and the Fighting Irish would get the ball back with a stop with a chance to tie the game. Smith completely burned his defender and he was wide open for a huge gain, and he iced the game.
Notre Dame did a lot of good things in the game, but the coaching staff could've made some better decisions.
College Football Playoff recap
Now, the college football season is over, and the Ohio State football team is the last one still standing. It was a year unlike anything we ever seen in college football, and a big reason for that is the new College Football Playoff format. Let's recap what went down in the final month of the season.
It feels like forever ago that we watched this Notre Dame football team kick off the College Football Playoff with a win over Indiana at home in the first round. The Fighting Irish were joined by Ohio State, Penn State and Texas as winners of first round games.
All four of those first round winners went on to advance to the semifinals as well. What we learned this year as that the first-round bye might not have been a good thing as all four teams that got one lost. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Texas all advanced.
The semifinal round was definitely the most entertaining of the four rounds in this year's College Football Playoff. Ohio State took on Texas, and Notre Dame played Penn State. Both were fantastic games that came down to the wire. The Buckeyes beat Texas on a late scoop n' scoop touchdown as the Longhorns were threatening to the tie the game, and the Fighting Irish won on a field goal in the final seconds.
Those wins in the semis set the stage for Monday night's national championship game, and it ended up being a better game than a lot of people thought. Outside of Columbus, everyone was hoping for Notre Dame to get the ball with a chance to tie it as the people wanted chaos, but the Buckeyes didn't let that happen. They are on top of the college football world until a new champion is crowned.
