Ohio State borrowed a play Alabama used against them for the Easy Jeremiah Smith TD

After an extended drive that used up much of the game clock in the first quarter and gave Notre Dame an early lead in the national championship game, Ohio State responded with an equally extended drive of their own — which was capped off by an easy touchdown pass from quarterback Will Howard to wide receiver Jeremiah Smith at the start of the second quarter.

And if the touchdown looked familiar to some college football fans, that’s because the Buckeyes apparently borrowed the play from Alabama. As Crimson Tide beat writer Michael Casagrande pointed out on the X , the Buckeyes’ touchdown play to Smith looked a lot like a play Alabama used against Ohio State in its national championship win back in 2021.

First, here’s the Buckeyes’ touchdown.

And here’s the Crimson Tide’s touchdown pass to Heisman Trophy-winning wideout DeVonta Smith.

How about a side-by-side view for good measure?

Perhaps Ohio State coach Ryan Day remembered the effectiveness of the play at the goal line and filed it away for later use, perhaps even with his own variations on it.

Either way, it worked to perfection and resulted in an easy score to the wide open Smith.