Notre Dame had 10 on field for Ohio Stateâs winning TD

Notre Dame appeared to make a massive substitution error on Ohio State’s game-winning touchdown on Saturday night.

The Fighting Irish had only 10 players on the field when the Buckeyes’ Chip Trayanum scored from the 1-yard line with one second remaining, giving No. 6 Ohio State a 17-14 victory in South Bend. Here’s a pre-snap look at the play in question, via Chris Vannini of The Athletic:

College football analyst Emmanuel Acho counted the Notre Dame defenders, so you didn’t have to:

Additional replays showed Notre Dame had only 10 players on the field on the previous play as well, when Ohio State’s Kyle McCord threw an incomplete pass. The Buckeyes had called a timeout, but the Fighting Irish failed to add an 11th defender.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman offered the following explanation, via Jack Soble of Blue & Gold Illustrated and On3 Sports:

No. 9 Notre Dame led much of the game before Ohio State’s game-winning drive. The Fighting Irish have not beaten the Buckeyes since 1936.