ATLANTA — “Just catch it,” Jeremiah Smith thought to himself.
Ohio State's freshman receiver knew the ball was coming his way. Notre Dame was in man coverage.
“Man to man, I'm not losing,” Smith later said.
And he didn't lose here either.
He made a huge comeback, sweeping past his defender, Christian Gray, as if he were standing up and pulling the bomb off midfielder Will Howard.
Fifty-six yards later, the national championship was over, and Ohio State cruised to a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Before the play, there was suddenly doubt. Ohio State's 24-point lead was cut to eight points.
It was third-and-11, with 2:38 remaining. Stopped, and the Irish had a chance.
The Buckeyes could have played it safe and forced Notre Dame to use a final timeout.
Coach Ryan Day decided to go for the tournament and go for the championship. Leave no doubt. Coach to win, rather than not to lose.
“I told myself: 'Only one national championship, and you only get one chance a year to do that, let's put it on the line and put it out there and be aggressive.' And that's what we did,” Day said. “I talked to the defensive players and I talked to the offensive players that we're going to keep playing. Aggressive throughout the match. I told the team that before the game. I had to make sure I followed through [with] “Which.”
The 6-foot-3 Smith was tackled at the 10-yard line.
Seven plays later, Jayden Fielding nailed a 33-yard field goal, extending the lead to 11 with 26 seconds left, clinching the school's first championship in a decade.
Smith was a big part of the title.
He set Ohio State's freshman records with 76 receptions, 1,315 receiving yards and 15 receiving touchdowns.
He also set a Big Ten record for most receiving yards by a freshman, and in four playoff games, scored five touchdowns.
With everything on the line, in the final minute of the college football season, he came up big.
“It's a blessing,” said Smith, who had five catches for 88 yards and a score Monday night. “We have had so many blessings this year.”
And he was at the top of the list.
