Tressels, Fickells, Urbans, Days, Johnsons and Days,
Whether you believe in the power of Holy Buckeye or Touchdown Jesus, at least you are a disciple of College Football. This is a week of College Football celebration, and we worship the same deity.
The Ohio State - Notre Dame season kickoff clash pre-dates most of us. When I was a young boy absorbing everything about sports, I asked my Uncle Garth who was his favorite team. He answered, "Ohio State and whoever is playing Notre Dame." His college football beliefs were seeded by my parents’ and grandparents’ generations. Historically, the Fighting Irish has been the pinnacle of college football...people love to love 'em or love to hate 'em. It's a little difficult for younger generations to truly grasp because recently Notre Dame seems like a team legendary for something that happened long ago -- 1988 was the last consensus national championship. You must zoom out and look at the bigger picture to comprehend ND's importance and rapid national fan base.
The 1935 Ohio State vs. Notre Dame game played in Ohio Stadium has been called "The Game of the Century"...which today is an overused term but back then was special. The pictures from the 1935 game are incredible. Grainy black, white, and gray shots. Over 80,000 people in the stadium - most of the men wearing those dark hats associated with that period. No helmet facemasks, so you can see the grizzled look on the players faces...who all look much older than they really are. This was the height of the Great Depression and yet 10,000 people came by train from South Bend to see this game. In 1935, Ohio State lost on a touchdown pass (which was revolutionary at that time) in the final minute. The Buckeyes would lose again in South Bend in 1936.
Do you remember where you were in 1995 when the Buckeyes finally had a chance for redemption against the Fighting Irish? One of the best college football images ever captured...Eddie George pulling away from nearly the entire Notre Dame team with 9 gold helmets chasing him from behind. Ohio State won again in South Bend in 1996.
The fifth time the Buckeyes and Irish met was nearly 17 years ago in the Fiesta Bowl. I remember my eldest son was only 6 weeks old and our celebratory roars did not wake him up. I also remember after the game, Troy Smith said during practice he worked on not overthrowing the long ball to Teddy Ginn...they knew it would be open.
The last time these two teams met was the 2015 Fiesta Bowl. One of the best Ohio State teams to not win the championship rolled Notre Dame behind Zeke’s four touchdowns in his final game as a Buckeye. Also, precursors of modern-day college football started creeping in during that January 1st, 2016 game. Joey Bosa was ejected on a targeting penalty which would have been the cleanest hit Jack Tatum ever laid on an opponent. Notre Dame’s sure-fire first round pick, Jaylon Smith, suffered a knee injury during the game which created a cascade of top NFL prospects opting out of non-championship bowl games ever since.
The Ohio State / Notre Dame game this Saturday is already historic and there hasn't even been a snap. Next season, Ohio State returns the trip traveling to South Bend. After that, who knows how many times in the 21st century these teams will meet if ND can avoid joining the Big Ten, so a win carries long-term spoils. It is also the type of game that can entrench the winner atop the CFP discussion...which is important, but just a small blip on the football timeline for these schools if it doesn’t amount to a championship season.
Expectations are extremely high for the 2022 Buckeye team. We’ll see right away if the issues that haunted Ohio State last year have been fixed – poor defense and soft play in the trenches. Coach Day turned over the coaching staff and OSU paid top dollar to bring in Jim Knowles to address problems preventing Day’s first championship at Ohio State.
They don’t get much bigger than this for a season-kickoff game…top 5 tilt under the lights in Ohio Stadium with the Fighting Irish. This would be a fitting first chapter for an Ohio State season that we remember for a long time.
Touchdowns: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, TreVeyon Henderson, TreVeyon, Julian Fleming, Marvin Harrison Jr., Miyan Williams
OSU 45 ND 24
Go Bucks! Beat Notre Dame! Josh Proctor for Heisman!
Large Father
