College Football Notebook: Semifinal Recap
The College Football Playoff’s semifinals were both great games. Here’s some closing thoughts on both:
Notre Dame 27 Penn State 24
Penn State is going to rue what happened Thursday night in Miami for a long time. This was a game the Nittany Lions should have won. Penn State controlled the line of scrimmage. They won rush yardage 204-117. Their own running game was equally balanced between Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton. Defensively, the Nittany Lions got after the quarterback, getting five sacks, and generating constant pressure. They forced the normally mistake-free Riley Leonard into two consequential interceptions, both of which led to points.
What’s more, Penn State got the breaks. They were the beneficiaries of two big penalties against Notre Dame near the end zone. There was a defensive hold that nullified a third-down stop, and a pass interference call that took an Irish interception off the board. Both calls were correct, but they didn’t impact the play, and therefore can be considered spots where Penn State was bailed out.
In spite of all that, they lost.
Notre Dame gets credit for some subtle adjustments in the running game out of halftime. While the final numbers don’t look great, the Irish got some big runs on a third-quarter touchdown drive that tied the game 10-10 and represented their first real offensive spark of the night. Jaden Greathouse had a big game at wide receiver, with seven catches for 105 yards.
Backup quarterback Steve Angeli came up with a late second-quarter relief effort that will take its place in Irish lore. Leonard had to briefly leave the game, trailing 10-zip and this looking like it would be a long night for Notre Dame. Angeli executed a controlled passing game, hitting six of seven passes for 44 yards, setting up a field goal and giving ND some momentum going into the locker room—momentum they took full advantage of.
In the end though, it was Penn State mistakes that defined the night. A blown coverage allowed Greathouse a far-too-easy 54-yard touchdown pass to tie the game 24-24. Then, Drew Allar capped off a bad night throwing the ball by forcing a first-down pass back into the middle field for an interception that set up the game-winning Irish field goal.
Ohio State 28 Texas 14
The 14-point spread doesn’t tell the fact that three feet of turf is all that separated the Buckeyes and Longhorns. Texas had 1st-and-goal on the 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter, trailing 21-14. But then disaster struck. The ‘Horns were stuffed up the middle on first down. With ESPN broadcasters Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit warning how tough Ohio State was to score on down close, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was clearly intimidated. He called for a deep pitchout to get to the edge. Unsurprisingly, it blew up in his face. The play went for an eight-yard loss. Forced to throw, Quinn Ewers was stripped-sacked, Buckeye defender Jack Sawyer took it the other way, and that was your ballgame.
The decision to call that play on 2nd down will live in Texas infamy. It’s one thing to try and get to the edge in the running game—a risky, but defensible strategy. It’s quite another to use a deep toss to do it. Even giving Ohio State’s goal-line D all the credit in the world, why not just run four straight quarterback sneaks? Or do a run-pass option to get to the outside? At the very least, wait until third down, when you know you’ll be throwing on fourth down anyway, to try the risky pitchout play.
What’s worse, is that the 2nd down play call wasn’t even the worst tactical decision made by the Longhorn coaching staff. With the game tied 7-7 and just 13 seconds left in the second quarter, Texas had just tied the game, had momentum and was ready to go to the locker room. The ‘Horns decided this would be the good time to run a corner blitz. To what end, I’m not sure, and it turned into a ridiculously easy walk-in touchdown off a swing pass for Ohio State’s TreVeyon Henderson.
Even with the Texas mistakes, it still has to be said that the Buckeyes were the better team. This had the potential to be a night that would instead live in Ohio State infamy. They had scored on the first possession and were generally dominating. Then, a spate of penalties broke momentum, and let Texas hang around, trailing only 7-0, until they got moving late in the half.
The Buckeyes also continue to beat high-quality competition without a running game. Neither team moved the ball on the ground, each being held under 100 yards. But Will Howard, even with his top target, Jeremiah Smith, being taken away, still went 24/33 for 289 yards. In contrast, Ewers struggled to 23/39 for 283 yards.
Looking Ahead
Ohio State and Notre Dame will play for the national title on Monday, January 20. We’ll have our preview up on gameday. Between now and then, we’ll have regular NFL playoff commentary. Wild-Card Weekend kicks off in a few hours, goes through Monday, and our recaps will be in this space on Tuesday. See you then!