I know we have a few threads on this, but I want to try to funnel the conversation here.
First, yes, this definitely happened. Notre Dame didn't have 11 players on the field coming out of a timeout for both second-and-goal from the 1, which was an incomplete pass to Marvin Harrison Jr, and third-and-goal from the 1, which was the touchdown run.
It appears to be a vyper defensive end not on the field.
Marcus Freeman was asked specifically about the touchdown play and what happened.
His response: "We were trying to get a fourth D-lineman on the field. I told him just stay off, because we can't afford a penalty. I didn't have any timeouts. We couldn't afford a penalty there. Yeah, it's on us. We got to be better."
Freeman was asked to clarify what the disadvantage would be in getting a penalty on such a short-yardage play. Could he have just taken the penalty to get an 11th man out there?
His response: "Yeah, you could've. You could've. But, to me, it was like, 'Hey, don't give them another opportunity to get settled and to try to make a different call. Hey guys, stay off the field. Let's not give them a freebie from the half-yard line, and let's try to stop him.' I thought maybe they would do the same thing they did the snap before. They didn't. They ended up running the ball. So, I gotta watch the play and see where the ball hit. But yeah, that's why I made that decision."
JD Bertrand was asked if he was aware they didn't have 10 for the touchdown.
His response: "No. Not at the time. I didn't know."
Thomas Harper was on that side of the field that didn't have a defensive end for both plays. I asked him if he noticed or if there was any communication on the field to correct it.
"I mean not really. Everything was going fast. I'm trying to do my job, get the call. That's something that we can't — we gotta do better. We can't be down. In that situation, we gotta do better — players and coaches."
Some notes/thoughts from me:
Notre Dame did have 11 guys on the field on second down before Marcus Freeman called timeout. The four D-linemen on the field were DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste and DTs Rylie Mills, Howard Cross III and Gabriel Rubio. Jean-Baptiste, Mills and Cross were the only D-linemen on the field for the final two plays. I'm not blaming Rubio, I'm just pointing out who was/wasn't there.
There's no excuse for Notre Dame to not notice that between plays and to get a fourth defensive lineman out there. Now, if they noticed super late like Freeman made it seem, I'm not certain that running a fourth D-lineman out late is going to make a difference. He's not going to get to the far side of the field in time. And the refs probably aren't blowing the play dead before the snap because of a guy running on the field late even if he's on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage.
My best suggestion — other than obviously not letting it happen in the first place — would be to have someone commit an offsides penalty and force contact with an Ohio State player so the play gets blown dead before the snap. Clearly, Notre Dame wasn't prepared for that scenario.
First, yes, this definitely happened. Notre Dame didn't have 11 players on the field coming out of a timeout for both second-and-goal from the 1, which was an incomplete pass to Marvin Harrison Jr, and third-and-goal from the 1, which was the touchdown run.
It appears to be a vyper defensive end not on the field.
Marcus Freeman was asked specifically about the touchdown play and what happened.
His response: "We were trying to get a fourth D-lineman on the field. I told him just stay off, because we can't afford a penalty. I didn't have any timeouts. We couldn't afford a penalty there. Yeah, it's on us. We got to be better."
Freeman was asked to clarify what the disadvantage would be in getting a penalty on such a short-yardage play. Could he have just taken the penalty to get an 11th man out there?
His response: "Yeah, you could've. You could've. But, to me, it was like, 'Hey, don't give them another opportunity to get settled and to try to make a different call. Hey guys, stay off the field. Let's not give them a freebie from the half-yard line, and let's try to stop him.' I thought maybe they would do the same thing they did the snap before. They didn't. They ended up running the ball. So, I gotta watch the play and see where the ball hit. But yeah, that's why I made that decision."
JD Bertrand was asked if he was aware they didn't have 10 for the touchdown.
His response: "No. Not at the time. I didn't know."
Thomas Harper was on that side of the field that didn't have a defensive end for both plays. I asked him if he noticed or if there was any communication on the field to correct it.
"I mean not really. Everything was going fast. I'm trying to do my job, get the call. That's something that we can't — we gotta do better. We can't be down. In that situation, we gotta do better — players and coaches."
Some notes/thoughts from me:
Notre Dame did have 11 guys on the field on second down before Marcus Freeman called timeout. The four D-linemen on the field were DE Javontae Jean-Baptiste and DTs Rylie Mills, Howard Cross III and Gabriel Rubio. Jean-Baptiste, Mills and Cross were the only D-linemen on the field for the final two plays. I'm not blaming Rubio, I'm just pointing out who was/wasn't there.
There's no excuse for Notre Dame to not notice that between plays and to get a fourth defensive lineman out there. Now, if they noticed super late like Freeman made it seem, I'm not certain that running a fourth D-lineman out late is going to make a difference. He's not going to get to the far side of the field in time. And the refs probably aren't blowing the play dead before the snap because of a guy running on the field late even if he's on the wrong side of the line of scrimmage.
My best suggestion — other than obviously not letting it happen in the first place — would be to have someone commit an offsides penalty and force contact with an Ohio State player so the play gets blown dead before the snap. Clearly, Notre Dame wasn't prepared for that scenario.
