College Football Old School Game of the Week: Buckeyes Explode for 31 Points in 10 Minutes to Knock off Notre Dame

 

Ohio State running back Eddie George ran for 207 yards and scored two TDs on 32 carries in the Buckeyes' win over Notre Dame.

On September 30, 1995, the Ohio State Buckeyes played host to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the two historic programs for only the third time in history and first since 1936.

The Buckeyes came into the game ranked #7 with a 3-0 record thanks to their explosive offense which featured quarterback Bobby Hoying, running back Eddie George, and wide receiver Terry Glenn that had averaged 525 yards and just over 40 points per game to start the season.

The fast start had Ohio State fans not only dreaming of going to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 1984 but maybe a chance at a national title for the first time since 1968.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish entered the game having already lost a game as they were stunned by the Northwestern Wildcats 17-15 in their season opener.

The Irish bounced back to win their next three games as they was led by sophomore quarterback Ron Powlus, who former ESPN commentator Beano Cook said would win the Heisman Trophy at least two times, to enter their showdown with the Buckeyes ranked #15 in the country as nearly 90,000 fans filled the "Big Horseshoe" to see the historic meeting between Notre Dame and Ohio State.

 After both teams punted on their opening possessions of the game, the Buckeyes got the ball at their 43-yard-line when Hoying connected with Glenn for a 26-yard completion to give Ohio State a 1st down at the Notre Dame 31-yard-line.

Hoying would then find Buster Tillman for 10 yards which was followed by a 10-yard run by George to give the Buckeyes a 1st & 10 at the Irish 11-yard-line.

Three straight runs by George for a total of eight yards set up 4th & 2 when the Buckeyes decided to go for it as Hoying rolled to his right and threw an incomplete pass intended for tight end Rickey Dudley to give the ball back to Notre Dame with 7:11 left in the first quarter.

The Irish would hold the ball for the rest of the opening period as they drove 95 yards in 15 plays with the drive culminating a 19-yard field goal by Kevin Kopka on the second play of the second quarter to give Notre Dame a 3-0 lead.

Following an Ohio State three-and-out, the Irish got the ball at their 39-yard-line when they drove 61 yards in seven plays, all of them runs, as Powlus who had scrambled for 30 yards on one play earlier in the drive, ran it in for a three-yard touchdown to increase the Notre Dame lead to 10-0 with 11:32 to go in the second quarter.

Now trailing by double digits, the Buckeyes needed a spark which they got on the second play of their ensuing possession as Hoying hit a short pass to Tillman who turned into a 51-yard completion to put Ohio State at the Notre Dame 28-yard-line.

Five plays later, the Buckeyes had their first touchdown of the game as Hoying found Glenn on a slant pass in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown to trim the Irish's lead to 10-7 with just over eight minutes to go in the second quarter.

The Irish would respond with an eight-play, 65-yard drive that ended with another three-yard touchdown run, this time by running back Randy Kinder to push the Notre Dame lead back to double digits at 17-7 with just about 4 and 1/2 minutes to go before halftime.

Notre Dame quarterback Ron Powlus threw for 263 yards despite completing only 13 passes.

The Buckeyes would begin their next drive at their 24-yard-line as Hoying would lead the Ohio State offense down to the Notre Dame 27-yard-line where they faced a 4th & 2.

Once again, the Buckeyes decided against the field goal and go for the 1st down which they got as Hoying connected with Glenn for 10 yards to give Ohio State a 1st & 10 at the Irish 17-yard-line.

After throwing an incomplete pass on 1st down, Hoying would find Dimitrious Stanley in the right corner of the end zone for a 17-yard touchdown to cut the Buckeyes' deficit to three points at 17-14 with 44 seconds left in the first half.

The Buckeyes would force the Irish to go three-and-out on their next possession before taking a knee to run out the clock in the first half with Notre Dame on top 17-14 and set to get the ball to start the second half.

The Irish would hold the ball for nearly six minutes as they drove 78 yards in 14 plays until they faced a 3rd & goal at the Ohio State two-yard-line when fullback Marc Edwards was hit in the backfield by Buckeyes defensive end Mike Vrabel which caused a fumble that Edwards was able to recover, allowing the Irish to settle for a 21-yard field goal by Kopka to increase their lead to 20-14.

Ohio State would get the ball back at its 22-yard-line as the Buckeyes' offense would drive to their 47-yard-line before punting the ball away when the turning point of the game occurred as Notre Dame's punt returner Emmett Mosley muffed the punt allowing for Ohio State's long snapper, Dean Kruzer, to recover the fumble at the Irish 19-yard-line.

After two runs picked up four yards, Hoying would find Dudley for a 16-yard touchdown pass that along with the extra point gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game at 21-20 with 5:06 left in the third quarter.

The Irish would get the ball back at their 12-yard-line as Powlus would fire a 56-yard pass to Derrick Mayes to give Notre Dame a 1st down at the Ohio State 32-yard-line, only to have Powlus be intercepted by Ohio State cornerback Shawn Springs three plays later to give the ball back to the Buckeyes who took over at their 11-yard-line.

Two runs by George for seven yards set up a 3rd & 3 when Hoying hit Glenn on a curl route who then turned upfield and outran the Notre Dame defense for an 82-yard touchdown to increase the Buckeyes' lead to 28-20 with 80 seconds to go in the third quarter.

Terry Glenn caught four passes for 128 yards and scored two touchdowns.

Things only got worse for Notre Dame as Powlus fumbled the snap of the first play of the Irish's ensuing possession, giving the Buckeyes the ball at the Notre Dame 15-yard-line.

Three straight runs by George with the last one being a five-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter for the Buckeyes' third touchdown in just over five minutes that pushed Ohio State's lead to 35-20.

The Irish needed a touchdown on their next drive which they got as Kinder ran it in for a 13-yard touchdown to cap off a six-play, 65-yard drive to cut the Ohio State lead to 35-26.

The Irish would go for two only to have Powlus be stopped on a quarterback keeper by three Ohio State defenders to keep it 35-26 with 12:55 left in the game.

The Buckeyes would get the ball back at their 20-yard-line as George would get the ball on 1st down to run for a 61-yard gain to put Ohio State back in the red zone at the Notre Dame 19-yard-line.

Three plays later, George would punch it in for a three-yard touchdown to push the Buckeyes' lead to 42-26 with 11:24 remaining.

Notre Dame would begin its next possession at its 11-yard-line as the Irish would pick up one 1st down before lining up to punt from their 26-yard-line on 4th & 6 when Edwards took the ball on a fake punt and almost ran for a 1st down as he was knocked out of bounds one yard shy of the 1st down to give the ball back to the Buckeyes at the Irish 31-yard-line.

George would run the ball six straight times for 13 yards to set up Josh Jackson's 35-yard field goal to increase Ohio State's lead to 45-26 with just over six minutes left in the game.

Following a Notre Dame three-and-out, the Buckeyes would get the ball at their 34-yard-line with 4:56 to go in the game as Ohio State proceeded to run out the clock as they ran the ball 10 straight times for 48 yards until the clock ran out with the Buckeyes on top 45-26.

Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying threw for four touchdowns on 14-of-22 passing for 272 yards.

Notre Dame would bounce back from the loss in Columbus with a six-game winning streak to end the regular season which allowed the Irish to secure a berth in the Orange Bowl where they fell to the Florida State Seminoles 31-26 to end their season with a 9-3 record to finish just outside the top 10 in the final polls as the Irish would finished #11 in the AP poll and #13 in the Coaches Poll.

As for Ohio State, they would follow up their win over Notre Dame with a come-from-behind 28-25 win at Penn State(Click on the link here to read about that game: https://oldschoolsportsblog.blogspot.com/2020/10/college-football-old-school-game-of_29.html) to move the Buckeyes into the top 5 as they climbed as high as #2 until they were stunned by the Michigan Wolverines 31-23 in their regular season finale which not only ended their undefeated season but sent Northwestern to the Rose Bowl instead of Ohio State.

The Buckeyes would have to settle for a berth in the Citrus Bowl which they lost 20-14 to the Tennessee Volunteers led by Peyton Manning to finish the season with a 11-2 record and #6 ranking in the AP poll and #8 ranking in the coaches poll.

When it comes to the Heisman Trophy, Powlus would never come close to winning the prestigious award as he finished his career with 7,062 passing yards and 52 touchdown passes while George would win the 1995 Heisman as he ran for  1,924 yards and scored 24 touchdowns.