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Recapping the series history between Ohio State and Notre Dame football

By John Scimeca

GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 01: Wide receiver Chris Brown #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the football against safety Vonn Bell #11 of the Ohio State Buckeyes (back) and cornerback Eli Apple #13 (front) during the third quarter of the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 01: Wide receiver Chris Brown #2 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish runs with the football against safety Vonn Bell #11 of the Ohio State Buckeyes (back) and cornerback Eli Apple #13 (front) during the third quarter of the BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 1, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Buckeyes defeated the Fighting Irish 44-28. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn unleashes a pass during the Fiesta Bowl game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on January 2, 2006. The Buckeyes won 34-20. (Photo by Gene Lower/Getty Images)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback Brady Quinn unleashes a pass during the Fiesta Bowl game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona on January 2, 2006. The Buckeyes won 34-20. (Photo by Gene Lower/Getty Images) /

Sept. 28, 1996 (South Bend, Ind.)

Result: Ohio State 29, Notre Dame 16

The No. 4 Buckeyes and the No. 5 Fighting Irish clashed in a highly anticipated early-season contest in 1996, with Ohio State emerging victorious just as it had in the previous year.

Ohio State led 22-7 at halftime and 29-10 late in the game, with the final outcome never truly in doubt. Buckeyes running back Pepe Pearson rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 6.0 yards per carry.

Notre Dame, who would lose to Air Force several weeks later and to USC to end the season, ended 1996 with a relatively disappointing 8-3 record. Ohio State, on the other hand, stayed undefeated until another loss to Michigan, part of a decade-long stretch in which they defeated the Wolverines only once (such different times, weren’t they?). The Buckeyes defeated No. 2 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl to end the year with an 11-1 mark.

Jan. 2, 2006 Fiesta Bowl (Tempe, Ariz.)

Result: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 20

Ohio State ended the 2005 season on a seven-game winning streak by defeating Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl, the first postseason meeting between the two storied programs.

The 10-2 Buckeyes edged the 9-3 Fighting Irish in this bowl matchup. Quarterback Troy Smith (before winning next year’s Heisman Trophy) led the effort by completing 19-of-28 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns. Two of his star wideouts included Ted Ginn Jr. (240 all-purpose yards, one receiving and one rushing score) and Santonio Holmes (five catches for 124 yards and one touchdown).

Notre Dame’s Darius Walker accounted for all three of the Irish’s touchdowns on the ground, accounting for 127 total yards from scrimmage in the losing effort. The loss capped the first season in charge for Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis with his junior quarterback Brady Quinn — doesn’t that seem like forever ago?

Jan. 1, 2016 Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, Ariz.)

Result: Ohio State 44, Notre Dame 28

This year’s group of Irish players were just three years removed from playing for the 2012 BCS national title game, which ended up being a spectacular loss to Alabama. Notre Dame (10-3), which had ranked No. 4 in the nation in just the second season of the four-team College Football Playoff, dropped its regular-season finale against Stanford before going on to lose this Fiesta Bowl date with Ohio State (12-1).

The Buckeyes finished the year with a 12-1 record, which seems pretty outstanding — but the sour taste came from losing late in the year to Michigan State, a team that would advance to the CFP and lose bottoms-up in a 38-0 rout to eventual national champ Alabama.

Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliot rushed for 149 yards and four touchdowns in the winning effort for the Buckeyes.

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