Final: Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28
The Buckeyes led by start to finish and take the Fiesta Bowl. Ezekiel Elliott had four rushing touchdowns and 149 yards. J.T. Barrett finishes with 211 yards passing and 96 yards rushing for Ohio State. Michael Thomas would have seven catches for 72 yards. Notre Dame quarterback DeShone Kizer went 22-for-37 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Will Fuller had six catches for 113 yards in the receiving game.
4th Quarter- 1:27 left: The final hope for the Irish goes down in flames as Kizer fumbles near midfield and Ohio State recovers.
4th Quarter- Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28: Neurnberger makes a 35-yard field goal with 2:42 left and it is a 16-point lead for the Buckeyes.
4th Quarter- 2:52 left: Ohio State is at the Notre Dame 19 and takes their final timeout.
4th Quarter- 4:18 left: The Irish can’t do anything productive with their latest possession and it’s Ohio State ball with a chance to run some clock.
4th Quarter- Ohio State 41, Notre Dame 28: Nuernberger hits a key 38-yard field goal with 6:09 left in the game and now the Fighting Irish need two touchdowns for the lead instead of a touchdown and field goal for the tie.
4th Quarter- 8:20 left: Buckeyes go for it on fourth down at the Notre Dame 29 and Barrett’s pass goes incomplete but the Irish commit a penalty to allow the possession to continue.
4th Quarter- 8:31 left: Ohio State has another third down but takes a timeout first. Barrett has now thrown for 211 yards and rushed for 101 more while Kizer has 235 passing yards. Ezekiel Elliott is up to 134 yards on the ground.
4th Quarter- 9:06 left: The Buckeyes convert a key third down to keep their drive going in Notre Dame territory.
4th Quarter- Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 28: The Irish aren’t dead yet as DeShone Kizer finds Will Fuller for a 81-yard touchdown with 11:27 to go. A touchdown that Notre Dame had to have and a quick one as well.
4th Quarter- Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 21: A very important 37-yard field goal by Sean Nuernberger makes it a three-possession game with 12:10 left in the game.
End of 3rd Quarter: The Buckeyes will go into the final 15 minutes with a 14-point lead just like they had to go into the second half. J.T. Barrett is 17-for-24 for 187 yards passing and has rushed for 84 more yards. Ezekiel Elliott has 118 yards on the ground and four touchdowns for Ohio State to control the run game. DeShone Kizer is 17-for-28 for 154 yards for Notre Dame and may need to throw for at least that much in the final quarter for the Irish to win this game.
3rd Quarter- 3:oo left: Notre Dame will start from their own 5-yard line on their next possession.
3rd Quarter- 5:02 left: Kizer is intercepted by Tyvis Powell and the Notre Dame drive is stopped by the turnover.
3rd Quarter- Ohio State 35, Notre Dame 21: Ezekiel Elliott gets loose and scores from 47 yards out for his fourth touchdown of the game with 6:37 left in the quarter. Elliott goes over 100 yards rushing with that carry with 121 yards on the ground on 15 carries.
3rd Quarter- 7:08 left: Ohio State converts a big third down near midfield as Barrett is now 14-for-21 for 159 yards passing for the Buckeyes.
3rd Quarter- Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 21: DeShone Kizer finds Chris Brown for a four-yard touchdown with 8:58 left in the quarter and all of a sudden, it is a one-touchdown game.
3rd Quarter- 11:52 left: Joe Schmidt intercepts Barrett’s pass deep in Notre Dame territory and the Irish have a chance suddenly to pull within one score.
3rd Quarter- 12:50 left: The Buckeyes take the ball to start the second half and have worked their way to the Notre Dame 35.
Halftime: Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 14
The Buckeyes have had control of this game from the opening kickoff. J.T. Barrett is 10-for-15 for 128 yards passing and a touchdown and leads Ohio State in rushing with 57 yards on the ground over 12 carries. Ezekiel Elliott has three rushing touchdowns in the half on his nine carries for 55 yards. DeShone Kizer has rushed for 31 yards to lead the Fighting Irish while going 13-for-20 passing for 122 yards. It needs to be a much different second half for Notre Dame to win.
2nd Quarter- Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 14: DeShone Kizer takes it in himself from one yard out with 29 seconds left in the half on a touchdown that the Irish desperately needed.
2nd Quarter- Ohio State 28, Notre Dame 7: There is no stopping the Buckeyes at this point as they add to their lead on a one-yard touchdown run by Ezekiel Elliott for his third score of the half with 1:48 to go.
2nd Quarter- 4:09 left: Notre Dame goes three-and-out after the Ohio State touchdown and give the Buckeyes a chance to put the hammer down before the half.
2nd Quarter- Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 7: Ezekiel Elliott plows in from one yard out with 4:55 to play in the first half and the Buckeyes have a 14-point lead again. Elliott has seven carries for 52 yards so far in the game.
2nd Quarter- 6:05 left: Ohio State takes a timeout facing 3rd-and-6 at the Notre Dame 47. J.T. Barrett is 8-for-12 for 85 yards so far for the Buckeyes.
2nd Quarter- Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 7: The Irish cut the lead in half on a three-yard touchdown run by Josh Adams with 7:34 left in the first half. A huge score for Notre Dame.
2nd Quarter- 11:34 left: Notre Dame gets a one-yard run from Kizer on 4th-and-1 to get a key first down.
2nd Quarter- 13:12 left: The Buckeyes can’t add to their lead and Notre Dame will have a chance to cut into the Ohio State lead.
2nd Quarter- 14:26 left: Ohio State goes on 4th-and-1 and Barrett gets the first down on a four-yard run.
End of 1st Quarter: It has been all Ohio State so far. J.T. Barrett is 7-for-7 for 82 yards while finding Michael Thomas three times for 29 yards. Braxton Miller has 29 yards rushing while Ezekiel Elliott has four carries for 21 yards for the Buckeyes. DeShone Kizer is 4-for-6 for 30 yards for Notre Dame as Torii Hunter Jr. has two catches for 22 yards.
1st Quarter- 2:15 left: The Irish are forced to punt from the Ohio State 40 after having 4th-and-18. The momentum change won’t happen here.
1st Quarter- 3:09 left: Notre Dame is facing 2nd-and-23 but can they capitalize on the Bosa ejection? It is the turning point that the Irish really needed at the time.
1st Quarter- 5:26 left: The Irish were having a terrible morning in Glendale as Kizer got intercepted but a bigger story is that Joey Bosa gets ejected for targeting Kizer and Notre Dame keeps the ball. The best player on the field in Bosa is gone for the rest of the day.
1st Quarter- Ohio State 14, Notre Dame 0: The Buckeyes are pounding the Fighting Irish early on for an 11 a.m. local time start in Glendale. J.T. Barrett finds Michael Thomas for a 15-yard touchdown with 7:41 left. The Irish need to wake up very quickly.
1st Quarter- 8:26 left: Another possession, another Notre Dame punt and Ohio State will start at the Irish 43 for their next possession.
1st Quarter- Ohio State 7, Notre Dame 0: Ezekiel Elliott scores from two yards out with 9:53 to play in the quarter as the Buckeyes fly down the field and score on their first possession in just 3:01.
1st Quarter- 11:08 left: Ohio State has made it all the way down to the Notre Dame 22 already on their first possession.
1st Quarter- 12:54 left: The Fighting Irish get the ball first but can’t get a first down and are forced to punt to the Buckeyes.
Pregame
2016 brings a matchup of two traditional powers in the Fiesta Bowl as the 10-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish face the 11-1 Ohio State Buckeyes at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. This is the game outside of the semifinals that every fan wanted to see this bowl season. DeShone Kizer has played great at quarterback for Notre Dame while looking the way of Will Fuller a lot while J.T. Barrett has taken his starting spot back for Ohio State and looks like the leader that the Buckeyes need. This looks like a good defensive showdown. Kickoff is scheduled for just after 1 p.m. Eastern time.
