On November 2, 1935, Notre Dame defeated a previously undefeated and favored Ohio State team, 18–13, before a crowd of 81,018 spectators in Columbus, Ohio. Ohio State scored less than three minutes after the game began. Still in the first half, the Buckeyes extended their lead by intercepting a Bill Shakespeare pass and returning it 50 yards for a second touchdown. Ohio State held the lead, 13–0, at the start of the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including two in the final five minutes of the game. With less than a minute to play, and Ohio State still leading by one point, Andy Pilney ran 52 yards through "a swarm" of Ohio State tacklers, advancing the ball to the Ohio State 18-yard line. Pilney was badly hurt on the play, and his "limp body" was carried from the field on a stretcher. With only a few seconds remaining, Notre Dame had time for one more play. Shakespeare threw an accurate 30-yard pass that was caught by a leaping Wayne Millner in the end zone for the winning touchdown.