Notre Dame lost on a last-second touchdown against Ohio State on Saturday. The Fighting Irish may have accidentally given themselves a handicap on the final play of the game.
The Buckeyes, trailing 14-10, were at the 1-yard line on third down with just three seconds left on the game clock. Ohio State running back Chip Trayanum was able to run the football up the gut for a walk-off winner at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
WHAT A COMEBACK BY OHIO STATE! 😱 pic.twitter.com/1o3mcXMECM
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) September 24, 2023
Notre Dame defensive coordinator Al Golden was unable to design a play to stop the winning Ohio State run. But perhaps the fact that Notre Dame had just 10 players on the field had something to do with it. The Irish appeared to be missing a lineman in the exact spot Trayanum ran for the game-ending score.
WAIT A SECOND!!!! NOTRE DAME ONLY HAD 10 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD ON THE FINAL PLAY vs OHIO STATE!!!!! WTF!!!
😳😳😳😳 pic.twitter.com/dFYu63Kv7S
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) September 24, 2023
Notre Dame also appeared to have 10 men on the field on the previous play. The fact that they still forced an incomplete pass from Ohio State quarterback Kyle McCord now looks even more impressive in hindsight.
As noted by some of you, Notre Dame ALSO only had 10 guys on the field for the pass play before the TD. pic.twitter.com/XR35RaBTFS
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) September 24, 2023
The Irish were able to force two turnovers on downs on Saturday, including a crucial stop on run play in Ohio State’s previous drive. Of course, those did come with the appropriate amount of players on the field.
