Ohio State vs. Notre Dame final score, highlights: Buckeyes' defense shuts down Fighting Irish in top-5 showdown

The Ohio State offense was supposed to be explosive. The defense was supposed to be improved, but perhaps still questionable. By the time No. 2 Ohio State finished off its 21-10 win over No. 5 Notre Dame on Saturday night, the defense had carried the day in an impressive Week 1 showing.

Ohio State (1-0) got off to an uncharacteristically slow start on offense, scoring only one touchdown in the first half and trailing 10-7 at the half

receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a contender for the Heisman Trophy, was injured early and missed most of the second half.

Instead of Smith-Njigba, fifth-year walk-on Xavier Johnson provided the spark for the Buckeyes late in the third quarter

Johnson capped a 10-play, 70-yard drive with a 24-yard touchdown reception on a seam route down the middle

They then took the air out of the football in the fourth quarter. They began a drive with 11:57 left and drained 7:06 from the clock while driving 95 yards in 14 plays,

Notre Dame (0-1) got the ball back at its 25 but went three-and-out, ending with quarterback Tyler Buchner being sacked for an 11-yard loss by Mike Hall

The Fighting Irish punted 75 yards with 3:42 remaining but never saw the ball again as the

Ohio State's defense was inconsistent in 2021 and was one of the biggest reasons it lost to Oregon and Michigan