September 30, 1995
Notre Dame at Ohio State Final Stats
By Shannan Ball, The Scholastic 1995 Football Review
It was called a rivalry renewed, and the hype surrounding the OhioState-Notre Dame match up was incredible. Days before the game, seats to watch the 15th-ranked Irish take on the seventh-ranked Buckeyes were selling for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars. Thousands of Notre Dame students entered the campus ticket lottery, hoping to see the Irish defeat Ohio State in Columbus. Before the game the streets surrounding campus overflowed with fans from both sides, and police had to use tear gas to keep the excited crowd under control.
The last time these two teams faced off, 60 years before, the match up had been dubbed the “Game of the Century.” That time, top-ranked Notre Dame emerged victorious. This year, however, the Buck eyes were the favorites. Ohio State went into the contest undefeated, while the Irish posted a record of 3-1. It was clear this game was crucial to both teams’ seasons. Ohio State wanted to beat a national power and further legitimize their run for the national championship, while Notre Dame was looking to continue their turn around against a top-ranked opponent And in the first half, at least, it looked as though they would.
But a tumultuous 6:57 second span in the third quarter turned the tide. Three key Irish miscues translated into 21 quick points for the Buckeyes. Notre Dame’s mistake-laden football proved a gift to the Gods of the Horseshoe, and gave the rowdy Columbus fans something to celebrate.
You could almost call it the Buckeye rule of threes. In the third quarter, the Irish committed three turn overs which resulted in three, three-play touchdown drives for the Buckeyes who scored all three times on third down. So often in football the game comes down to who capitalizes in turnovers. Ohio State knew it, and they made the Irish pay.
“The name of the game was turnovers, and we got some good breaks today,” Cooper said.
Strike One: After taking the second-half kickoff and driving 76 yards in 17 plays, the Irish settled for a 22-yard Kevin Kopka field goal, putting them up. 20-14. The Notre Dame defense then forced an Ohio State punt, and it looked like an Irish knock-out punch would not be far behind.
But as Irish fans have learned over the last few years, every punt is an adventure. Emmett Mosley attempted to field a punt he should have let go, muffed it, and the Buckeyes recovered. Mosely said later that he thought the Ohio State player next to him was a Notre Dame player, and he didn’t want the ball to hit him. Three plays later, Bobby Hoying hit senior tight end Rickey Dudley, who carried an Irish defender into the end zone. After the PAT, it was 21- 20, Buckeyes.
Strike Two: The very next drive began ominously. Mosley started a kickoff return left and tried to hand the ball to Autry Denson. The exchange was bobbled, but Denson recovered on the Notre Dame 12. Aided by a 56-yard bomb to Mayes, the Irish drove to the Ohio State 32, setting up a crucial third down. Powlus tried Mayes again, but because of a mix-up Mayes ran the wrong route and Powlus threw too deep. Cornerback Shawn Springs chased down the ball and made a diving interception. Three plays later, former walk-on wide receiver Terry Glenn blistered a path to stardom with an 82-yard touchdown. On third down and three, Glenn ran a simple 10-yard curl in front of cornerback Allen Rossum, who slipped. Glenn turned and burned, out-legging Rossum, the all-star sprinter, for the next 72 yards.
After the PAT, it was 28-20, Buckeyes.
Strike Three (‘Yer Out): The Irish didn’t wait until they had established a drive to turn the ball over again. On the first play from scrimmage on the next drive, quarterback Ron Powlus and center Rick Kaczenski finally botched a snap when it counted. The Buckeyes recovered.
Three plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, George took the bal in from five yards out for the score. After the PAT, it was 35 20, Buckeyes.
To Notre Dame’s credit, it fought back. Kinder scored the third touchdown of his impressive 144-yard day, but a missed two-point conversion left the score 35-26 and out of reach. The Buckeyes then used their workhorse, George. The tailback immediately made a big play, racing around the left end for 61 yards before Shawn Wooden finally made a touch down-saving tackle. It wouldn’t matter, however, as George would get his pay check three plays later on a 3-yard cut back run.
Any chance of a miracle ended after Marc Edwards was stopped short on a fake punt. The Buckeyes added a field goal making the score a lopsided 45-26 as the mob of scarlet and gray took the field.
The powerful force behind the Buckeye victory was the performance of their trio of Heisman hopefuls. George rushed 32 times for 207 yards, and although the Irish man aged to contain him in the first half, he broke loose in the second stanza. Hoying also boosted the Ohio State offense, completing 14 of 22 passes for a total of 272 yards, including four touchdowns. Two of those touchdown passes were caught by Glenn who made four catches for 128 yards.
“Eddie [George],. Terry [Glenn], and Bobby [Hoying] had great games. Outstanding,” commented Holtz. “I thought we could keep up with them as long as we could mix the run and the pass. The touchdown before the half was a big break for them, I’m-sure.”
It had all started so well, despite the crowd of 95,537 gathered in Ohio Stadium. As the teams ran out into the bright sun at the horseshoe in Columbus, they were greeted by deafening noise. ”The 12th man today – wow – the crowd was fantastic,” Ohio State Head Coach John Cooper said. “It really helped us.”
Holtz, an Ohio native and former assistant coach at Ohio State under Woody Hayes, appeared on the sidelines for the first time since his neck surgery. This was a bit of a surprise, since Holtz was expected to remain in the press box for at least one more game.
“I had planned on [coaching] upstairs [in the press box], but assistant coach Bob Davie thought I should be there [on the sidelines],” Holtz said.
The Irish defense forced the Buckeye to punt twice, and took over on downs once during OhioState’s first three possessions. A Kevin Kopka field goal gave the Irish an early 3-0 lead.
During the second quarter, both offenses got in sync, scoring two touchdowns apiece. TheIrish were led by Kinder, whose 83 first half yards and two touchdowns helped give the Irish a slim 17-14 lead. The Buckeyes’ attack came primarily through the air, with Hoying completing 10 of 17 passes for 152 yards. He hooked up for touchdowns with Glenn and Dimitrious Stanley to account for the Ohio State points.
After being out-played for most of the first 30 minutes,Ohio State had been able to shake off 10-0 and 17-7 deficits. The touchdown to Stanley came with only 44 seconds left in the first half, and clearly gave the Buckeyes some much-needed momentum going into the locker room. Starting their drive at their own 24-yard line with only 4:27 remaining, the Buckeyes moved down the field swiftly, courtesy of George and Hoying. The senior quarterback showed his poise, delivering the touchdown pass in the face of a Notre Dame blitz.
The three turnovers killed an outstanding first half effort by the entire squad, as well as the individual performances of Powlus and Kinder. “We shouldn’t have lost the game the way we did,” said Powlus, who completed 13 of 16 passes for 243 yards. “If they were going to beat us, they should have beaten us on a last second field goal or a last touchdown drive. We beat ourselves today, there’s no question.”