Notre Dame is fresh off an impressive run to the College Football Playoff National Championship, taking full advantage of the first year of the 12-team format while marching to Atlanta as the No. 7 seed.

Then, for the biggest play of the game, Notre Dame decided to leave Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on an island. It was third and 12 and the Fighting Irish would get the ball back with a stop with a chance to tie the game. Smith completely burned his defender and he was wide open for a huge gain, and he iced the game.