No.2 Ohio State grinds out win against No.5 Notre Dame

(Photo by Ric Kruszynski / Columbus Wired)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The No.2 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the No.5 ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish by the score of 21-10 on Saturday evening in the marquee matchup of Labor Day weekend.

The season-opening contest marked the fourth consecutive meeting between the two programs in which both were featured in the top-ten of the national rankings. The last meeting occurred in the 2016 season when the Buckeyes came into the clash ranked No.7 and the Fighting Irish were No. 8 in the polls.

Notre Dame fired the opening salvo of the contest when sophomore quarterback Tyler Buchner connected with Pickerington, Ohio native Lorenzo Styles for a 54 yard gain. The big play took the air out of the Buckeye faithful inside of Ohio Stadium as the visitors looked to capitalize on the early momentum. A series of running plays from the Irish could not find pay dirt as head coach Marcus Freeman settled for a 33-yard field goal from senior Blake Grupe to gain a 3-0 lead.

Ohio State answered with a touchdown pass with 5:36 remaining in the first quarter.

Quarterback C.J. Stroud rolled out to his left, evading pressure from the Irish defense to find Emeka Egbuka on the near side. The second-year receiver used his momentum to carry him into the end zone and gave the Scarlet and Gray a 7-3 lead.

Two big passes from Buchner in the second quarter netted Notre Dame 53 yards and put them into prime score position as they looked to recapture their advantage. A one-yard rush from Audric Estime gave the Irish a 10-7 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.

Stroud struck for his second touchdown of the evening, completing a 24-yard touchdown pass to graduate wide receiver Xavier Johnson to extend the advantage to 14-10.

Sophomore TreVeyon Henderson and junior Miyan Williams combined for 175 yards on the evening but it was the junior who tallied the late touchdown to put the Buckeyes on top with the 21-10 victory.

UP NEXT 

Ohio State now shifts its focus to Arkansas State next Saturday, September 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 PM.