The first national championship game of the 12-team College Football Playoff is a television executive’s dream.
Notre Dame (14-1) and Ohio State (13-2) will face off on January 20th in Atlanta, the heart of the SEC, but for the second year in a row, no SEC team will participate in the CFP finals. It will be. Following last season’s Michigan-Washington CFP Championship, this will be the first time since 2004 (USC vs. Oklahoma) and 2005 (USC vs. Texas) that the title game will not involve an SEC team.
The Irish vs. Buckeyes matchup is a 7th seed vs. 8th seed matchup, but don’t be fooled. Neither of these teams are Cinderellas.
Perhaps the two biggest brands in college football will square off for the ninth time in their storied history. It should be a TV ratings monster for ESPN, but oddsmakers have the Buckeyes as outrageous favorites. The Athletic’s predictive model gives Ohio State a 69% chance of winning.
Ohio State coach Ryan Day’s team ended the regular season with a heartbreaking loss to the University of Michigan that would have eliminated the Buckeyes from the four-team playoffs, but one win left the school in 2014. They were able to bring their first national title since that season. .
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history lesson
Marcus Freeman’s first regular season game as Notre Dame’s coach came in 2022 against his alma mater, Ohio State.
The Buckeyes won the game, and a rematch was held the following season in South Bend, Indiana. The second game was decided in the final moments when Ohio State scored the winning touchdown on a goal-line play, giving Notre Dame a 10-point victory. Day then called out Lou Holtz, saying the Buckeyes are not a tough team.
Freeman, 39, has come a long way since then and has a chance to become the first black head coach to win a major championship in college football.
Ohio State’s latest win in the series gave the Buckeyes six straight wins against Notre Dame dating back to 1995. That streak includes two lopsided wins over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl. The 1995 Columbus Games featured a 210-yard performance by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George.
The Irish’s last victories over the Buckeyes came in 1935 and 1936, when coach Elmer Lane led Notre Dame.
Notre Dame has won 11 national titles, eight of them in the poll era, but Tony Rice and Holtz led the Irish to the championship in 1988, a Fiesta Bowl victory over West Virginia. Since reaching the pinnacle, there has been no victory.
Ohio State’s last championship came in the first year of the four-team College Football Playoff under coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes are seeking their seventh national title in the polling era and are once again entering a new playoff system with a championship.
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First look
After winning the first two games of the playoffs with 83 points, Ohio State will be tough looking to get big plays, especially from freshman star receiver Jeremiah Smith (1,227 yards receiving, but just 3 against the Longhorns). They were stuck in a quagmire in front of the Texas defense.
So, haven’t the Longhorns given the Fighting Irish a blueprint for slowing down quarterback Will Howard and the Buckeyes?
For Notre Dame, that starts with a lockdown pass defense, with freshman cornerback Leonard Moore playing at a level beyond his experience and All-American Xavier Watts leading a group of three physical and range safeties. Masu. Ireland has a completion rate of 50.7 per cent, the highest in the country.
Penn State had more success against Notre Dame. Ohio State certainly has the backs to try it with Tre’Vyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, but run blocking has been difficult for an offense that lost two of its best players to injury during the regular season. .
Of course, Ohio State also has a very good defense. In fact, it was probably the more consistent side of the ball this season, led by edge rushers JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer. The seniors were playing the best of their careers in the postseason, and it seemed only natural that Sawyer’s strip sack, scoop and score sealed the Cotton Bowl.
Jack Sawyer Scoop and Score 😱
Ohio State University is one step closer to advancing to the National Championship! pic.twitter.com/BPoV5FBRGZ
— ESPN (@espn) January 11, 2025
Notre Dame has overcome numerous injuries on both sides of the ball. The Irish will likely have to do it again if they are to win a national championship.
Notre Dame will face a loaded defense from Ohio State, which lost two starting pitchers in the Penn State game.
Both missed the second half of the semifinals, with freshman tackle Anthony Knapp apparently suffering an ankle injury and guard Rocco Spindler nursing an ankle injury since the first round against Indiana.
Notre Dame is also dealing with a nagging knee issue with star running back Jeremiah Love. The sophomore is Notre Dame’s most talented offensive player and one of the best backs in the country, but he only carried the ball 25 times in the CFP. But he still has some dramatic, game-changing runs.
This view of Jeremiah Love’s touchdown 😳 pic.twitter.com/oSdhKereqU
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 10, 2025
Irish quarterback Riley Leonard’s strengths are his toughness as a runner (866 yards, 16 TDs) and fending off pressure, but against Penn State he gained 223 yards and was the best in the passing game. The game is over. However, he threw two interceptions.
Line: Ohio State -9.5.
why do you need to be excited
Well, it’s a national title match.
(Riley Leonard, Will Howard Photo: Michael Pimentel, Steve Rimentani/ISI Photography/Getty Images)
