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SOUTH BEND, Ind: Kyle McCord spent two years trying to get on the field at Ohio State and three additional weeks trying to prove he could lead the Buckeyes.

The first-year starting quarterback and the Buckeyes answered their doubters Saturday night — with help from a Notre Dame defense failed to go to 11 on the deciding play.

McCord converted play after play on the final drive, capped with a perfectly executed 1-yard scoring plunge by Chip Trayanum with 1 second left to give No. 6 Ohio State a 17-14 victory over No. 9 Notre Dame on Saturday night.

McCord was just trying to work against what he called Notre Dame’s “soft” late-game defense. He converted a fourth down and then a third-and-19 with no timeouts to win it.

What McCord didn’t realize was that Notre Dame (4-1) only had 10 players on the field for the final two plays from the Irish 1-yard line — an incompletion in the end zone to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trayanum’s decisive run that sent Buckeyes players streaming onto the field in celebration only to be sent back to the sideline for a replay review that put a second back on the clock.

Freeman recognized the error on the last play, but wanted to avoid a penalty that would have moved the ball 1/2 yard closer to the goal line or that would give Ohio State (4-0) another play.

“We were trying to get a fourth defensive lineman in the game,” Irish coach Marcus Freeman said. “I told him ‘Just stay off, we can’t afford a penalty.’ I didn’t have any timeouts left.”

The Buckeyes (4-0) took full advantage, beating Notre Dame yet again. The Irish have not won a game in this series since 1936.

Ohio State coach Ryan Day was fired up when it was over, criticizing former Irish coach Lou Holtz, who called out the Buckeyes toughness in predicting a Fighting Irish victory earlier this week.