How Kyle McCord, Ohio State football beat Notre Dame on last-second touchdown on final drive

No. 4 Ohio State football put its game-winning drive on the shoulders of quarterback Kyle McCord. The first-year starter delivered in the dying seconds of the defensive thriller, leading a go-ahead scoring drive for the 17-14 win against No. 9 Notre Dame in Week 4.

McCord finished the ballgame with 240 yards but no touchdowns in a defensive battle, completing 21 of his 37 passing attempts. The Ohio State defense, meanwhile, held the explosive Notre Dame quarterback Sam Hartman to 175 yards and one touchdown — and gave McCord and Co. the chance to mount the game-winning drive.

Neither team was able to find an offensive rhythm in the first half, as the Buckeyes entered the locker up 3-0 thanks to a field goal by kicker Jayden Fielding. Ohio State responded with a touchdown in their first drive out of the halftime, but the Irish scored consecutive touchdowns to go up 14-10 in the fourth quarter.

The Buckeyes defense stifled Hartman and the Fighting Irish offense, holding them to 16 yards on five plays on their final meaningful offensive drive to give the ball back to the Ohio State offense for one last chance. In his the biggest moment of his college football career, McCord went to work from the OSU 35-yard line with 1:26 left on the clock. Here's how he led the Buckeyes to victory:

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23-yard pass to Emeka Egbuka on third-and-10

McCord began the drive with two incomplete passes to TreVeyon Henderson, causing pressure on the junior quarterback to mount in a hostile Notre Dame Stadium. On third-and-10, McCord dropped back and delivered a ball on the seams to Emeka Egbuka for a 23-yard gain.

With star wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. dinged up with an ankle injury, Egbuka stepped up massively, racking up 96 yards on seven targets. The 23-yard reception was Egbuka's largest gain of the game.

7-yard pass to Julian Fleming on fourth-and-7

After tight-end Cade Stover smartly got out of bounds after a 3-yard catch on second down, McCord's pass down the middle was broken up by JD Bertrand on third down, forcing a fourth-down situation. The Buckeyes had failed to convert their last two fourth downs, including a fourth-and-inches on the previous drive.

In a play that could have ended the game, McCord calmly found an open wide receiver in Julian Fleming over the middle. The senior wide receiver gained an extra 3 yards after the catch to just inch close enough to the first-down marker to move the chains and keep the Buckeyes hopes alive.

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Intentional Grounding by Kyle McCord

At the Notre Dame 13-yard line, McCord stepped back out of the shotgun as the pocket converged. With two Notre Dame defensive lineman draped all over him, McCord got rid of the ball out of bounds, but was called for intentional grounding, as the quarterback was still inside the pocket.

To avoid a 10-second run-off, coach Ryan Day was forced to call his final timeout with 15 seconds left on the clock with his Buckeyes pushed back to the Notre Dame 22-yard line.

21-yard completion to Egbuka at the 1-yard line

On a third-and-19 play and the game looking like it might be just out of Ohio State's reach, the Irish rushed just three lineman and opted to drop everyone else in coverage, giving McCord ample time to step back and laser in on a target.

McCord delivered a dime to Egbuka, who corralled the football at the 1-yard line with his back to the end zone. The 21-yard gain proved to be the most important play of the game, putting the Buckeyes in a position to send Notre Dame home with a loss.

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1-yard touchdown by Chip Trayanum

With seven seconds left on the clock and the Buckeyes at the 1-yard line, Day had time for two plays. On the first play, McCord caught the football and scrambled to his right and look for Harrison Jr. to ice the game, but the pass went incomplete, leaving three seconds on the clock.

With trust in his offensive line, Day handed the ball off to running back Chip Trayanum for a 1-yard touchdown to cap off a thrilling game-winning drive by Ohio State.

With that, the Buckeyes not only stayed undefeated on the season, but also handed the Irish their first loss of the year.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Kyle McCord, OSU football beat Notre Dame on last-second touchdown