The Ohio State Buckeyes bested Notre Dame, 17-14, in a walk-off college football finish.
The Buckeyes overcame a poor play call late in the fourth due to their playmaking core. It also didn't hurt that Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman ended up dropping eight on a crucial third-and-19.
Still, Ohio State won due to solid offensive play.
No. 3 reason Ohio State beat Notre Dame: TreVeyon Henderson
For a while, TreVeyon Henderson was the only player on offense that was able to break out in this game. The rest of the playmaking core couldn't really get anything going in the passing game as the Fighting Irish defense was able to lock them down with their pass rush.
Henderson activated his rushing attack with a monstrous run that went for a 61-yard TD in the third quarter.
Outside of that run, he was still able to get some work as he kept the Buckeyes on schedule on offense.
A big shoutout goes to Chip Trayanum who ended up having the game-winning TD by fighting his way for a one-yard score on the last play of the game for the Buckeyes.
Since the rushing attack didn't give any breathing room for the Buckeyes' passing game, it's hard to put either of these two backs beyond third on this list. Still, they deserve major props for their play in this game.
No. 2 reason Ohio State beat Notre Dame: Emeka Egbuka and Marvin Harrison Jr
On the statsheet, it might not seem like Marvin Harrison Jr. was able to do anything special. Still, Harrison created enough room for other WRs to shine in this game.
He also did this while getting injured midway through the game and despite the fact that he was covered by Benjamin Morrison and Cam Hart, who are two of the top corners in all of college football.
With all of the attention on Harrison Jr, Emeka Egbuka was able to have amazing game. He went off for 96 yards on seven receptions. In a game where Kyle McCord needed wideouts to be open early due to the Fighting Irish pass rush, Egbuka was able to deliver.
No. 1 reason Ohio State beat Notre Dame: Buckeyes defense
Coming out of this game, the whole college football world will need to respect the Buckeyes' defense going forward. Notre Dame only had 14 points in this game total.
Even if you count a missed field goal in the first quarter, this is a defense that held an offense that has scored a minimum of 42 points every game this season.
Yes, Notre Dame's offense didn't really play a lot of solid defenses up to this game. Still, the fact that Sam Hartman threw for less than 200 yards for the entire game is a huge win for Ohio State going forward.
Major props go to the Buckeyes' defensive coordinator Jim Knowles among others. Josh Proctor and Lathan Ranson were able to contain the passing game as the Buckeyes' pass rush wasn't really successful. Ohio State's defenders were the heroes in a game where the Buckeyes playmakers took a while to get their engines going.
