They might wish for a Fiesta Bowl do-over at full strength, particularly considering a creative offensive game plan helped them trade punches with the high-octane Ohio State attack, and the patchwork defense delivered a timely takeaway and racked up seven tackles for loss to keep the deficit manageable.
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Joey Bosa was ejected late in the first quarter for a targeting penalty on Kizer, robbing Ash of his unit’s best player and perhaps the best defensive player in the country.
Already with three rushing touchdowns in the game, Elliott rushed for a 47-yard score and gave the Buckeyes a 35-21 lead over the Fighting Irish with 6:37 to play in the third quarter.
He flashed his speed in the second, becoming the show stopper as he raced up the middle for a long run. NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who attended the game, was also impressed with Elliott’s skills in pass protection.
“We watched the (national semifinal) games last night”, said Thomas, the receiver from Taft High who has now caught passes in 29 consecutive Ohio State games.
The No. 7 Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 44-28, in the 45th annual Battlefrog Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Bosa, RB Ezekiel Elliot and QB Cardale Jones have declared for the NFL Draft, coach Urban Meyer said Thursday.
“I’m just happy we came back and responded after two tough losses and kind of made a statement that we are a really, really good football team”.
The only problem with relying so frequently on the “next man up” approach in college football is that there isn’t an endless supply of bodies to plug in and keep winning games. They may leave the desert wondering what could have been after blowing past another playoff contender.
The 50 wins in four seasonsalso means Ohio State’s senior class ties Boise State’s senior class from 2011 for the most wins of any four-year class.
When Buckeyes offensive coordinator Ed Warinner moved up to the booth for the MI game, it was very evident how much faster the Buckeye offense played.
“I thought we handled ourselves well relative to the physicality of the game, but we didn’t execute as well as we needed to win”, Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “You lose a guy like [linebacker Jaylon Smith] early on, [and] it significantly affects what you’re doing defensively”.
Playing against dual-threat quarterback like Kizer, Ohio State was bound to miss some, but it is clear that wrapping up is a point of emphasis.
Despite falling behind 14-0 in the first quarter, the Irish (10-3) hung in the game until the fourth quarter when OSU pulled away with three field goals.
I just know I really wouldn’t mind it being September 3 right now, which wasn’t something I would have said after a year ago.
Elliott, another potential first-round pick, was the Buckeyes’ punctuation mark, scoring on a pair of 1-yard runs and another from 2 yards.
Ohio State’s weird loss to MSU ended up costing the Buckeyes the chance to repeat as national champs, which is fair and square.
“He’s a physical back”.
Notre Dame finally got a stop on Ohio State’s third drive of the game and forced the Buckeyes to punt. “He did some special things with his feet today”. The 1-yard quarterback keeper by sophomore DeShone Kizer marked his 10th rushing score of the season, a new Notre Dame record for players at the position. Ohio State finished the season with a record of 12-1 while Notre Dame finished the season 10-3. 10 MI in which Elliott carried the ball 30 times for 214 yards and two TDs. “Did you notice how everybody shifted in for the quarterback sneak before Kizer came to the line of scrimmage?”
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COACH KELLY: I like where we are.
