It’s been four days since the clock hit triple zeros on a beautiful South Bend Saturday night. For long days of agony and wondering what could’ve been had a simple screen pass been completed in the fourth quarter. They often say football is a game of inches, but it really came to life last Saturday night when Notre Dame played Ohio State in one of the most anticipated early-season matchups of the year. It was one of the most action packed weekends of college football that I can remember, as there were several top 25 games and this was the marquee matchup to cap off the night.

It was a slow and sluggish start to the game as they went to the half with only three points on the board, courtesy of an Ohio State field goal after Notre Dame had missed a field goal of their own early on. Coming out of a half the buckeyes struck quick as they went up 10 to 0, thanks to a huge run by Trayveon Henderson to the outside that resulted in a touchdown. However, midway through the third quarter Notre Dame came roaring back with a massive touchdown pass courtesy of Sam Hartman. Then Notre Dame would follow up with another touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Rico Flores, and they would take the lead late in the game.

Several minutes would pass by and Notre Dame found themselves grabbing a crucial stop on 4th and inches when Ohio State attempted to run a jet sweep. With four minutes remaining in the game it was Notre Dame football and they had one simple job and that was to run the clock out. This is where things went wrong rather quickly after some successful place to start the drive Sam Hartman was taken down for a 5 yard loss. The following play is the key play of the game in my opinion as Sam Hartman attempted to float a screen over the Ohio State defensive line, and it went off the fingertips of one of their defensive ends. You can watch the tape back, but it’s clear as day that had that pass been completed, Price might still be running into the end zone in South Bend and Notre Dame would have a program elevating win for the ages. Unfortunately, that simply wasn’t the case and Ohio State got the ball back with a couple minutes left on the clock.

What proceeded to happen next was the first year starting quarterback, Kyle McCord let a game-winning drive that Notre Dame had several opportunities to put to a stop. Key interceptions continued to fly through their hands late in the game and they allowed Ohio State to convert a clutch third and 18 that put them near the goal line. We all know what happened next, as for the following two plays Notre Dame was a man short on the field and Ohio State would end up scoring a game-winning touchdown with three seconds left on the clock. It was heartbreak for all the Irish fans in the stadium that night. It was heartbreak for Notre Dame fans watching all around the world as well. 

Unfortunately, I just so happen to be one of those fans that was watching from home, and it’s been four days, and I am still disgusted how fast I went from absolute joy to being completely heartbroken. My heart was beating out of my chest during that final drive, I could feel my anxiety building through the day, but at that moment it definitely had reached its peak. All this time later, and I’m still completely heartbroken by this loss and as a Notre Dame fan this is the hardest loss I’ve ever had to come to terms with. This somehow hurts worse than the 2012 BCS national championship game, and the Florida State game from 2014. It absolutely blows the several playoff defeats out of the water, and compared to last seasons, loss to Ohio State, I was over that one after at least a day. 

This is simply one of those ones that you just don’t get over, I can still recall myself sitting on the couch, absolutely broken, just not wanting to stare at the TV. The pure elation I had felt moments earlier was absolutely sucked out of my body as they ruled the review a touchdown, and it was clear that Ohio State won the game. I won’t dive into what happened on Twitter next because it was just constant hours of abuse from drunk Ohio State fans that just kinda continued to call me fat, which made me laugh. I showed a ton of frustration on social media after the game and this is another way for me to get this off of my chest. Part of me can’t wait till Saturday to watch all this team bounces back against the Duke Blue Devils on the road in Durham. The one thing for certain this is a loss that is gonna stick with me for the remainder of the season, especially if it ends up costing us a spot in the college football playoff in ten weeks.