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College Football

Jeremiah Smith’s TD vs. Notre Dame looked a lot like play Alabama ran against Ohio State in 2020 title game

Bryce Lazenby

By Bryce Lazenby

Published:

Jeremiah Smith’s touchdown against Notre Dame in the title game looked awfully familiar.

The wide receiver motioned back like he was going for a jet sweep, but quickly reversed course and was wide-open in the flat. Will Howard found Smith, who was able to prance into the end zone for an 8-yard score. The TD tied the game at 7 early in the 2nd quarter.

Interestingly, many noticed the similarity between that play and a play Alabama ran against Ohio State in the 2020 title game. Alabama WR DeVonta Smith made a similar move, appearing to be going for a handoff, before reversing and appearing wide-open in the flat. Mac Jones found Smith for the score and Alabama went on to win that game 52-24.

Here’s video from both touchdowns:

It appears like Ryan Day took note of that play and buried it in his bag of tricks to use later. Now, against Notre Dame, was the perfect time to pull it out and it worked to perfection. Notably, Nick Saban, who was coaching that Alabama team, is in the stadium in Atlanta tonight as part of College GameDay.

The Buckeyes are hoping that this title game turns out much differently than the title game against Alabama. This game got off to a bad start for the Buckeyes, who saw the Irish go on a 10-minute-long opening drive that resulted in 7 points. However, the Buckeyes quickly responded, capping off a long drive of their own with the trick play.

Ohio State is looking for its first national title since 2014.

Bryce Lazenby

Bryce Lazenby covers college football for Saturday Down South. A Nashville native, his previous stops include FanSided, Dimers, and The Leaf-Chronicle.

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