MY THOUGHTS....Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame

           

Although not making the four-team playoff and getting a chance to defend last year’s title will sting a little bit, Ohio State earned a very good consolation prize in a 44-28 blowout of Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, sending the seniors out with 50 wins in their 54 games played.  The win improved Coach Urban Meyer’s record in the post-season to 10-2 and 16-6 against top 10 teams.

            J.T. Barrett continued where he left off against Michigan.  In that game, he did much of his work on the ground; against the Irish, he was more impactful through the air, completing 19 of 31 throws for 211 yards and a touchdown to go along with his one pick.  Barrett added 96 yards on the ground, totaling 307 yards of total offense.  His performance in the passing game was most impressive, as he utilized seven different receivers.  His use of the tight ends in the passing game impressed me as he hit Marcus Baugh for 27 yards on an out-and-up route on the first possession and a 3^rd down conversion throw to Nick Vannett as that throw was right on the money, through a tight window over the middle.  Barrett’s overall performance provides a solid springboard into next season, where there won’t be a quarterback controversy.  So barring an injury, the quarterback issue will be settled.  Ezekiel Elliott played his final game at Ohio State with a workmanlike dismantling of the Irish run defense, carrying 27 times for 149 yards and four touchdowns.  Elliott also delivered a few bone-jarring blocks for Barrett on his option runs and put his receiving skills on display by hauling in a throw from Barrett and turning into a 30-yard gain.  Elliott finishes his Buckeye career with 43 rushing touchdowns, putting him fourth all-time in Ohio State history behind only Pete Johnson (56), Keith Byars (46), and Eddie George (44).  These three greats took four years to reach their lofty totals, so one can only imagine the career numbers Elliott would rack up if he stayed one more year!  One can only wish!  Elliott finishes the season with 1821 yards and 23 touchdowns; racking up 363 yards and six touchdowns in his last two games against Michigan and Notre Dame, so one can only imagine what he would’ve racked up had the Buckeyes duplicated last year and played in 15 games.  

Against an Irish defensive unit giving up only 33 per cent third down conversions, the Ohio State offense converted on 10 of 18 (56%).  The Buckeyes converted four of six tries in the first half and six of their first eight in the second half.  It was remarkable to see the balance on the play calling, as the Buckeyes passed on third down 10 times and ran it eight, picking up five first downs through the air and another five on the ground.  This helped to wear down Notre Dame’s defense in the latter part of the third quarter into the fourth quarter.

The defensive line figured to give up some points to a good Notre Dame offense, with Adolphus Washington suspended, Tommy Schutt injured, and Joey Bosa tossed in the first quarter, but I was impressed by the way they held together.  After Bosa’s ejection, I posted to a friend’s Facebook page (thank you, Nadine Miriello) to keep an eye on Sam Hubbard and Tyquan Lewis.  Hubbard was easily the most impactful man up front with four tackles and a sack.  Lewis picked up only one tackle until he picked up a key sack in the fourth quarter to stop a Notre Dame drive.  I was also impressed with Michael Hill (taking over for Washington) and Tracy Sprinkle, who out-fought several Notre Dame linemen to recover a fumble caused by Darron Lee.  Although the defense produced only two sacks, coming when the game was no longer in doubt, with Notre Dame throwing a lot more, I was impressed by the patchwork defensive line stuffing any semblance of a Notre Dame ground game, holding the Irish to a paltry 3.8 yards per rush.

I was very happy to see sophomore kicker Sean Nurenberger finally get his due.  Having lost his starting job to graduate transfer Jack Willoughby only to earn it back ahead of the 10th game of the season, it was a rough 2015 for him.  A highly touted kicker coming into Ohio State, Nuernberger kicked during last year’s national championship season but made only 13 of 20 tries triggering Coach Meyer's willingness to give Duke transfer Jack Willoughly a look this fall but he couldn't hold the spot after hitting seven of 11 tries through this year's first nine games, missing on all his attempts beyond 40 yards.  This could prove to be important heading into 2016, with a tougher schedule, and with Ohio State replacing quite a few stars on both sides of the ball, as the kicking game could be more important than ever.

The domination of a good Notre Dame squad is not a bad send off for this group of seniors who came here when the program was in turmoil, with a new coach, and leave with 50 victories in their career (the most of any big school in any four-year span), a perfect season, three B1G division titles, a B1G championship, and a national championship.