Ohio State manhandles Notre Dame, wins Fiesta Bowl

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, January 02, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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Monday's Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was less a contest than a coronation.

The #4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes came ready for battle and took out the 6th ranked team in the country, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. What was expected to be a high scoring, back and forth shootout, turned out to be little more than a dud. The final score was 34-20 and even that wasn't a true indicator of how much the Buckeyes dominated this football game.

The Irish started the game with the football and led a terrific march down the field. Running back Darius Walker swerved across the field for 38 yards and quarterback Brady Quinn completed a key 26-yard pass to receiver Maurice Stovall. The drive culminated with a 20-yard touchdown run by Walker to put Notre Dame up 7-0.

After the Irish did their damage to start the game, the Buckeyes got their first possession and made the most of it. QB Troy Smith rushed for 22 yards on the drive but the key play was of course, the touchdown pass. Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. left Notre Dame cornerback Ambrose Wooden in the dust and streaked for a 56-yard catch and carry to tie the score at 7. It appeared that the shootout was on.

Both offenses became silent for the remainder of the opening quarter and it seemed that the two teams would match each other step for step. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, this was simply the calm before the Buckeyes' offensive storm.

On the first drive of the second-quarter, the Buckeyes caught the Irish off guard with a called end-around to Ginn who took it 68 yards to the house to put the Buckeyes up 14-7. It was truly a dazzling display of speed and agility by Ginn.

The next ten minutes of regulation contained sloppiness by both offenses as well as plenty of punts. The only real drive came from the Buckeyes and as they were marching inside Notre Dame's red zone, Smith botched the called option play and tossed a bad lateral to Gin, who fumbled.
The Irish fell on the ball and it was little more than a lucky break, since the Buckeyes could have gone up by at least 10 points.

Two drives later, the Buckeyes' offense made up for their crucial mistake on their previous drive by marching right down the field in just four plays. Smith found receiver Santonio Holmes on a deep post and he proceeded to outrace the Irish secondary and find the end-zone after an 85-yard catch and carry. The score was 21-7 at that point and it appeared that it was Ohio State's game to win. Certainly, Notre Dame wasn't playing their kind of game at that point.

After the Buckeyes' defense stopped Quinn and the Irish again, they got the ball back. Troy Smith went 4-of-5 on the drive for 41 yards, and rushed for another 11. Unfortunately for Ohio State, their last second
28-yard field goal attempt was blocked and they were forced to go into the locker room leading by 14 instead of 17. The question was, would the block fire up Notre Dame and send the Buckeyes into a second-half tailspin?

The first drive of real substance in the third-quarter once again belonged to Ohio State. Led by running back Antonio Pittman, they marched 30 yards and set up yet another field goal attempt by Josh Huston. Once again, his attempt was blocked. The score remained 21-7 and somehow the Irish, despite being totally outplayed still remained very much alive.

On the proceeding drive, Notre Dame's offense finally got something going. Quinn threw three passes to little used receiver Matt Shelton for a total of 41 yards and the Irish were in business. Walker capped off the 71-yard drive with his second touchdown of the day, a 10-yard run. Suddenly, Notre Dame had new life and were ready to get within 7. Once again, something went wrong for the Irish. Kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick shanked the extra point and instead of being down 21-14, Notre Dame was down 21-13.

Clearly shaken by his missed point after attempt, Fitzpatrick booted the following kickoff out of bounds and gave Ohio State good field position at their own 35. On the only significant play of the drive, Smith hit Ginn for 44 yards to put the Buckeyes in position to kick a field goal. Huston made good on his attempt this time and nailed a 40-yarder to put the Buckeyes up 24-13 with 4:20 to go in the third-quarter.

After yet another defensive stand by their A.J. Hawk led defense, the Buckeyes got the ball back and started the final quarter with more points. Pittman rushed for 28 yards and Smith completed a key 17-yard pass to Roy Hall and just like that, Ohio State was inside Notre Dame territory. They settled for a 26-yard field goal by Huston to give them a 27-13 lead with 14:20 remaining in the game.

On their next drive, Notre Dame methodically marched down the field and accumulated 80 yards of offense. Head coach Charlie Weis called ten straight passing plays 7/9 with a sack, and a key fourth-and-8 17-yard gain to Stovall to keep the drive alive. Three plays later, Walker rushed for his third touchdown of the game and narrowed the Buckeyes' lead to 27-20.

On the next drive, the Buckeyes finally drove the stake through the heart of the Irish. Pittman put on a show, totaling 72 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown run. However, the biggest play of the drive was Smith's key third-and-11 completion to Anthony Gonzalez. Smith shook off a Notre Dame defender and found the tight end for 15 yards to keep Notre Dame's comeback hopes at bay. That play broke the spirits of the
Irish and the next play was Pittman's lengthy gallop.

At 34-20, it was all over.

This game hardly lived up to its own hype and was completely one-sided. Ohio State looked about as good as a team can possibly look as their offense accumulated a whopping 619 yards on the star-struck Notre Dame defense. The victory elevated the Buckeyes' 2005-2006 record to 10-2 and it's certainly a positive end for senior linebacker A.J. Hawk. He managed two sacks and was one of the better players on the field. Also, it further showed how great of a coach Jim Tressel truly is. He managed to draw up a scheme to stymie Notre Dame's incredibly good offense.

For the Irish, this was certainly quite a misstep for a team that was touting its return to glory. Weis, Quinn, and Walker will be back for sure next season and that's a great foundation to build upon. Whether or not junior receiver Jeff Samardzija comes back remains to be seen.
It's likely that he will indeed return for one more season of Notre Dame football. At 9-3, the men from South Bend have a lot to be proud of and a lot to look forward to in 2006.

Ohio State Game Balls: QB Troy Smith completed 19-of-28 passes for 340 yards and two touchdowns. He also managed 68 yards rushing and essentially fooled Notre Dame's defense all day.

Receiver Ted Ginn Jr. also receives a game ball for this one. He caught eight passes for an amazing 164 yards and a touchdown. Also, his 68-yard end-around touchdown run set the tone for this game in the early going.

Receiver Santonio Holmes. Possibly in his final game before he bolts to the greener pastures of the NFL, the junior receiver pulled in five catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Linebacker A.J. Hawk. The senior added to his lore with 11 total tackles and two sacks. The performance solidifies his incredibly legacy with the Buckeyes and he is certainly ready to pile in some major cash as a top 10 pick in April's NFL draft.

Notre Dame Game Balls: Running back Darius Walker. The sophomore rushed for 91 yards and all three of the team's touchdowns and did it against the nation's #1 run defense. Quite a performance from the very underrated runner.

Receiver Maurice Stovall. In what was likely his final game with the team, Stovall caught nine passes for 126 yards. At the moment, it's projected that the junior will go in the second round of the upcoming NFL draft.

Connor Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com.
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