Ohio State OC Chip Kelly calls right plays to lead Buckeyes to CFP title, validating decision to leave UCLA

ATLANTA – In pregame warmups, with celebrities such as Joe Montana and Travis Scott on the sidelines, college football’s next big star, Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith rocketed down the field, tracked a deep ball over his shoulder and effortlessly caught it. 

Chip Kelly, the Buckeyes’ first-year offensive coordinator, had a Cheshire cat smile on his face watching it unfold. He sidled up to his star freshman receiver, whispered something into his ear and had another big grin as Smith gave a satisfactory response. It was a brief yet revealing moment that made you think Kelly and Smith knew Notre Dame was about to be in big trouble trying to stop OSU’s explosive offense. 

“I asked him if he was scared,” Kelly recalled to CBS Sports.

The answer? “He said, ‘No.'”

Smith was honest with his coach though he undersold his readiness just a tad. And when it mattered most, Kelly and quarterback Will Howard trusted Smith to come down with the catch that extinguished Notre Dame’s comeback hopes. 

Up eight points with less than three minutes remaining in the game, Ohio State faced a critical call on third-and-11 at its own 34-yard line. Failure to convert would give the ball back to a Notre Dame offense that just marched 80 yards down the field on six plays to make it a one-score game. 

Ohio State had been content to mostly take what Notre Dame’s defense offered, efficiently moving the ball down the field primarily through short passes and the run game. Smith hadn’t gotten an opportunity to haul in a deep pass like the one he so beautifully caught before the game started. 

In the biggest spot of the game, Kelly finally broke out the haymaker. 

“It’s only a gutsy call if it doesn’t work,” Kelly said. “I was trying to get a first down and get…


Source link : https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/ohio-state-oc-chip-kelly-calls-right-plays-to-lead-buckeyes-to-cfp-title-validating-decision-to-leave-ucla/

Author : John Talty

Publish date : 2025-01-21 14:21:00

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