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Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had a couple of big plays that helped the Buckeyes win a national championship in their 34-23 win over Notre Dame. That included a touchdown that tied things up in the first quarter when Ryan Day decided to literally take a page out of Alabama’s playbook and harness a ploy the Crimson Tide used to beat his team on the same stage four years ago.
On Monday night, Ohio State was hoping to win its first national championship in a decade in a game where they were listed as pretty heavy favorites over Notre Dame.
This season marked the sixth time the Buckeyes had punched their ticket to the College Football Playoff and the third occasion where they ended up being one of the last two teams in contention for a title; the most recent appearance came in 2021 when they were firmly outplayed in a 52-24 loss to Alabama.
The Fighting Irish opened up the scoring with a nine-minute, 18-play drive spanning 75 yards that ended with Riley Leonard punching the ball in from a yard out.
However, it didn’t take very long for Ohio State to respond by going the exact same distance in 11 plays before Jeremiah Smith snagged a pass from Will Howard to the house on a play where one member of Notre Dame’s defense seemingly knew he was going to be targeted but was ultimately unable to prevent the score that knotted things at seven points apiece.
The Notre Dame DB knew it was going to Jeremiah Smith and it still didn’t matter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/1D8zDwpgG5
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 21, 2025
The play involved a little bit of trickery that saw Smith run toward Howard in the backfield before swiftly reversing course, and it bore an uncanny resemblance to one Alabama ran against Ohio State in the aforementioned national championship game that led to DeVonta Smith scoring the TD that gave the Crimson Tide a 14-7 lead toward the end of the first quarter.
That Ohio State TD looked somewhat like an Alabama play it ran against the Buckeyes with DeVonta Smith to win the 2020 title. pic.twitter.com/tTG5wQ5FNc
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) January 21, 2025
If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em—and then beat someone else for a title of your own.