Ohio State and Notre Dame Locked in First Half Defensive Struggle
The matchup between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Notre Dame Fighting Irish was projected to be a high-scoring affair by most experts.
And with high-powered offenses, with two talented and prolific quarterbacks - along with perhaps the top receiver group in college football for Ohio State - that made sense.
But through the first two quarters of play, it was quite the opposite, with the Buckeyes and Irish locked in a low-scoring defensive slugfest.
Things all started for the Bucks with the entire secondary at large, who was able to hold Irish quarterback Sam Hartman - a Heisman Trophy contender - to just 88 yards through the air on 9 of 13 completions.
Not to mention the play of safeties Lathan Ransom and Sonny Styles, who combined for nine total tackles.
The Buckeyes' defense as a whole was also able to hold the Irish to just 54 yards on the ground in total, including just 25 yards on five carries for starter Audric Estime.
On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes struggled to get things going themselves, with quarterback Kyle McCord throwing for just 84 yards on 9 of 16 passing, while star running back TreVeyon Henderson to just 34 yards on 10 carries.
As a team, the Bucks managed just 63 yards on 19 carries.
Luckily, the Bucks were able to break the deadlock just before the half, knocking through a field goal, and going up 3-0
Perhaps even more surprising though, were the struggles for all-world wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., who caught just one pass for seven yards.
Ohio State will hope to find a spark offensively and extend their lead in the second half.
