Notre Dame Fails to Stop the Run, Loses Time of Possession & Game to Ohio State

Notre Dame was supposed to be mentally defeated after Ohio State put up three scores in the first quarter.

They weren't. 

The game was supposed to be out of reach for the Irish by halftime. 

It wasn’t.

But all week, head coach Marcus Freeman preached the importance of stopping the run and controlling the time of possession.

By the end of regulation, it was clear Notre Dame couldn’t.

“That is a heartbreaker for a defense,” Freeman said. “If you're giving up big plays to an offense when they're running the ball, that kills a defense. We've got to be able to finish and execute in the fourth quarter.”

In the second half, Ohio State put together the long, methodical drives Notre Dame needed. 

The Buckeyes ran the ball 24 times for 122 yards, chewing up 19:34 in time of possession.

The Irish, on the other hand, ran the ball 12 times for 23 yards — good for 1.9 yards per carry. 

The result? 

No. 5 Notre Dame (0-1) failed to capitalize on a three-point halftime lead and lost their season opener at No. 2 Ohio State 21-10 on Saturday evening.

“You can't be surprised when, all of a sudden, it's a 10-to-7 ball game midway through the third quarter against a really good football team,” Freeman said. 

“Don't be surprised. That's got to be the expectation for this group. Now we have to learn to finish. Don't hold off. I felt that a little bit in me as a coach, I just got to hold on.”

Freeman, instead, wants his team to be more aggressive in those situations.

“We have to continue to attack and continue to execute,” he said, “and that's what we've got to do better.”

Of course, the fact that Notre Dame held a lead at any point in the second half ran counter to the pregame narrative. 

The assumption was that Buckeye quarterback C.J. Stroud and his host of blue chip wideouts would torch the Irish secondary unless a vaunted Irish pass-rush showed out. 

The Irish defensive line, instead, failed to generate much pressure throughout the evening — only sacking Stroud once all evening — yet the secondary still held up.

On offense, the Irish went through spurts where the line wasn’t able to generate much of a push.  Over the course of the first three offensive drives combined, the Irish produced a negative rushing total.

Then, in the fourth quarter, when Notre Dame desperately needed a sustained offensive drive, the Irish ran for just 12 yards. 

It didn’t help that Notre Dame played without one of its best players. Left guard Jarrett Patterson went through pregame stretches but neglected to participate in any individual blocking drills with his fellow offensive linemen. He never saw the field. 

“Obviously, when you don't have an All-American out there, there's not just a physical loss,” Freeman said, “but there's the mental and emotional loss that you lose with not having an All-American and a two-year captain on the field.”

The blame, of course, doesn't fall solely on Notre Dame’s run offense and defense. 

After starting the game 8-8 for 128 yards, Irish quarterback Tyler Buchner connected on just two more passes. 

Both were chunk plays of 17 yards or better, but neither enabled the offense to sustain drives.  He finished 10-18 for 177 yards and zero touchdowns. 

In the end, the national perception of Notre Dame may have improved with a competitive road loss to Ohio State, but as Freeman and his staff digest their performance, they’ll find areas where they can improve and avoid moral victories.

“We didn't execute the way we needed to,” Freeman said. “We had a challenge to win the fourth quarter. We didn't win the fourth quarter. They scored with 13 seconds left in third and they scored at the end of the fourth, and we didn't respond, and we didn't keep them out of the end zone.”