Notre Dame Had 10 Men on Field for Ohio State’s Go-Ahead Touchdown Run

Ohio State’s game-winning drive against Notre Dame was a triumph of quarterback Kyle McCord’s precision passing, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka’s deft pass-catching, and running back Chip Trayanum’s raw power.

It was also, upon further review, an instance of the Fighting Irish beating themselves.

As many observers—including Chris Vannini of The Athletic—pointed out after No. 9 Notre Dame’s heartbreaking 17-14 loss to No. 6 Ohio State, the Fighting Irish had just 10 men on the field for Trayanum’s go-ahead touchdown with one second left. Even more egregiously, the missing man realistically could have plugged the hole Trayanum penetrated to win the ballgame.

Amazingly, Notre Dame also had only 10 men on the field for McCord’s incompletion on the preceding play.

After the game, Fighting Irish coach Marcus Freeman told reporters he was leery of rushing a defensive end out onto the field with no timeouts and risking an offsides penalty.

Freeman’s caution was costly, as Notre Dame dropped its first game of the season with another tough contest looming next Saturday at Duke.