ATLANTA – Simply get him, Jeremiah Smith thought.
The Ohio State freshman extensive receiver knew the ball was coming his approach. Notre Dame was in males’s protection.
“Man on man, I do not lose,” Smith mentioned later.
He did not lose right here both.
He gained rather a lot, working previous his quarterback, Christian Grey, as if he was standing nonetheless and fielding the bomb from quarterback Will Howard.
Fifty-six yards later, the nationwide championship was all however over, Ohio State cruised to a 34-23 win over Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Earlier than the play, a doubt immediately appeared. Ohio State’s 24-point lead was right down to eight.
It was third-and-11 with 2:38 left. Stoppage and the Irish had an opportunity.
The Buckeyes may have performed it protected and compelled Notre Dame to make use of their remaining timeout.
Coach Ryan Day determined to do it, go for the championship. Depart little question. Coach to win as a substitute of to not lose.
“I simply thought: Just one nationwide championship, you solely get one alternative a yr to do that, let’s simply put it on the map and put it on the market and be aggressive. And that is what we did,” Day mentioned. “I talked to the fellows on protection and I talked to the fellows on offense that we will proceed to be aggressive all through the sport. I informed the group that earlier than the sport. And I had to ensure I adopted by way of [with] this.”
The 6-foot-3 Smith was tackled on the 10-yard line.
Seven performs later, Jaden Fielding kicked a 33-yard area aim to increase the result in 11 with 26 seconds left, sealing the college’s first championship in a decade.
Smith was such an enormous a part of the title.
He set Ohio State freshman information with 76 receptions, 1,315 receiving yards and 15 landing catches.
He additionally set the Huge Ten document for many receiving yards by a freshman, and in 4 playoff video games scored 5 touchdowns.
With the whole lot on the road, within the remaining minute of the school soccer season, he got here up huge.
“It is a blessing,” mentioned Smith, who had 5 catches for 88 yards and a rating Monday evening. “We have had too many blessings this yr.”
He was on the prime of the listing.
