Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, September 4, 2014
Ohio State vs. Notre Dame is the type of non-conference game America wants. Well, America is going to get it as the iconic schools announced they will meet in 2022 and 2023.
Who knows what college football will look like then? Doesn?t matter. This is good news. Two of college football?s biggest brands have met five times, with the Buckeyes holding a 3-2 edge.
I recall the recent two-game series in 1995 and 1996. Great games. The Buckeyes won both, notching a 45-26 triumph in 1995 behind Eddie George?s 207-yards rushing and 272 yards passing and four touchdowns from Bobby Hoying. That was one of the great teams in OSU annals, as George went on to win the Heisman.
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The next year, another tremendous Ohio State club prevailed, 29-16, in South Bend with Pepe Pearson rushing for 173 yards as the Buckeye defense limited the Irish to 280 total yards. Offensive tackle Orlando Pace went on to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 draft.
Ohio State and Notre Dame also clashed in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, with OSU taking a 34-20 decision with quarterback Troy Smith throwing for 342 yards.
Notre Dame won the first two meetings, taking an 18-13 victory at Ohio Stadium in 1935 and a 7-2 decision at Notre Dame in 1936.
Some other interesting future Big Ten non-con games:
- Michigan: Arkansas in 2018; at Arkansas in 2019; at Washington in 2020; Virginia Tech in 2020; at Virginia Tech in 2021; Washington in 2021; at UCLA in 2023; at Oklahoma in 2025; Oklahoma in 2026
- Michigan State: Oregon in 2015; Notre Dame in 2016; at Notre Dame in 2017; at Arizona State in 2018; Arizona State in 2019; Miami (Fla.) in 2020; at Miami (Fla.) in 2021
- Nebraska: at Miami (Fla.) in 2015; Oregon in 2016; at Oregon in 2017; at Oklahoma in 2021; Oklahoma in 2022; Tennessee in 2026; at Tennessee in 2027
- Ohio State: at Virginia Tech in 2015; at Oklahoma in 2016; Oklahoma in 2017; at TCU in 2018; TCU in 2019; at Oregon in 2020; Oregon in 2021; Notre Dame in 2022; at Texas in 2022; at Notre Dame in 2022; Texas in 2022
- Penn State: at Virginia Tech in 2022; Virginia Tech in 2023; West Virginia in 2023; at West Virginia in 2024
- Wisconsin: Alabama (at Arlington, Tex.) in 2015; LSU (at Green Bay) in 2016; Virginia Tech in 2019; at Virginia Tech in 2020.
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About Tom Dienhart | BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section. |
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