COLUMBUS – Ezekiel Elliott tied a Fiesta Bowl record with four rushing touchdowns to lead No. 7 Ohio State to a 44-28 win over No. 8 Notre Dame Friday.
Elliot finished the game, his last one as a Buckeye, with 149 yards rushing and 30 receiving.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett completed 19 passes for 211 yards, a touchdown and an interception and rushed 23 times for 96 yards.
The Buckeyes (12-1) capped their first drive with a touchdown and built a 28-7 lead before the Fighting Irish (10-3) battled back to cut their lead to 28-21 but OSU kept them at arm’s length for the remainder of the game.
The Buckeye defense played most of the game without standout end Joey Bosa who was ejected in the first quarter for targeting.
Ohio State began the 2015 season as the defending national champions and the unanimous No. 1 in the major college football polls.
Both the Buckeyes and Notre Dame were at one time ranked among the top four teams in the College Football Playoff standings but fell out of contention for semifinal berths due to late-season losses.