On Saturday night, No. 2 Ohio State defeated No. 5 Notre Dame 21-10 despite scoring its fewest points since 2018 in the game.

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Marcus Freeman, the head coach of Notre Dame in his first season, made his Fiesta Bowl debut in December and is returning home for the game.

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He worked as Luke Fickell's defensive coordinator at the University of Cincinnati before accepting the Notre Dame position.

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An excellent Notre Dame gameplan and an injury to top wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba hampered the high-flying Buckeyes offence.

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But with 17 seconds remaining in the third quarter, preseason Heisman favourite C.J. Stroud connected with Xavier Johnson for the game-winning 24-yard touchdown,

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When Stroud connected with Emeka Egbuka for a 31-yard touchdown in the first period, Ohio State topped Notre Dame 7-3.

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However, Notre Dame opened the second quarter with a drive of 87 yards in just 10 plays, and when Ohio State missed a field goal attempt in the final seconds of the period, the Irish led 10-7 at the break.

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After gaining more than 300 yards receiving in a Rose Bowl victory over Utah, Smith-Njigba entered 2022 as one of the finest receivers in the nation.

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He was tackled awkwardly early in the first quarter, but it appeared he injured his left leg, and the rest of the half he played just sparingly.

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Smith Njigba only had two catches for three yards during the first half, therefore he was forced to sit out the second half..

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