Ohio State celebrates its victory over Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)
ATLANTA — The pass seemed to stay there forever. I feel like it was about 7 weeks? Did it feel like 10 years?
What a great discussion that will last forever for Ohio State fans.
Late in the fourth quarter Monday, Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard’s tearful throw on third-and-11 ended up falling into the hands of receiver Jeremiah Smith, as light as a feather. He scored 34 points. They defeated Notre Dame in 23 games to win their sixth national title and first in 10 years.
That 56-yard gain erased Notre Dame’s frenetic comeback and propelled the Buckeyes into the sport’s first 12-team playoffs, just as they had been champions of the original four-team tournament a decade earlier. He became the champion.
“They were doing coverage on the running man, and I said, ‘Hey, let’s free this up and let him make plays,'” said Howard, who once defined Ohio State’s program. He talked about a play that felt like it was about 100 years removed from what he had done before. If it’s 3 yards there will be dust. ”
The victory comes just seven weeks after a 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30 that resulted in a near-riot on the field and raised questions about whether coach Ryan Day would keep his job when the calendar changes. It was a victory that few could have imagined on November 30th. It turned over.
“This is a great story about guys who just went through some really tough situations. And at a point where there were a lot of people who ignored us, (they) just kept swinging and kept fighting. ,” Day said.
Buckeyes were on cruise control, then suddenly ND worked
This game might have been more fun, considering it was played in a packed stadium that looked like a Christmas tree in the middle of SEC country — half of the Ohio State fans were red, and the other half was red. Half had Notre Dame fans painted in green.
Leading 31-7, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns and two two-point conversions late in the fourth quarter, making it a one-point game. Cameras inside the stadium spotted legendary Irish coach Lou Holtz in the plush box, and he gave a thumbs up, ignoring booing Buckeye fans.
But time is running out for Notre Dame. After stopping the Buckeyes on the first two plays and taking advantage of a timeout, the Irish brought in Christian Gray (whose interception capped off Notre Dame’s semifinal win over Penn State) in single coverage of Smith.
As Smith slipped out behind Gray on the right sideline, Howard dropped his best pass of the season into the hands of the second-team All-American.
A field goal in this game started the celebration in earnest and also helped Ohio State cover an 8 1/2 point deficit at BetMGM Sportsbook.
“It was do-or-die, it was a down like that,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said. “He’s a hell of a player. It’s hard to cover him.”
Howard and Judkins benefit Ohio State in transfer portal
Howard, a transfer portal success story from Kansas State, threw for 231 yards and two scores, but nothing beats his all-consuming pass to Smith.
The receiver, who was shut down by Texas in the semifinals and then pretty quiet for most of this game, finally broke loose by playing like he’s been doing all year. He had five catches for 88 yards.
“We felt like at the end we wanted to give Jeremiah that chance,” Day said. “I wasn’t really pitching all night, but I thought, ‘Okay, let’s be aggressive, let’s do this, let’s compete.’
Ohio State never looked like a team that needed to take risks after scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions and adding a field goal on their fifth possession.
Highlighting Ohio State’s smart use of the growing portal, Mississippi State transfer Quinshon Judkins (100 yards, 11 carries, 3 TDs) ran for 70 yards to make the score 28-7. When I decided on this, it looked like this. I finished watching the game.
That wasn’t it. Freeman will now have to answer some difficult questions. One of them was a failed fake punt in the third quarter that resulted in a field goal with a 31-7 lead. The other is about sending in Mitch Jeter to try for a short field goal when they were up by 16 points and facing a fourth point down by nine. It might have been a better call if Jeter’s kick hadn’t hit the left upright.
“We know it’s still a two-score game, but we’re more likely to score 14 points than we are to score 16,” Freeman said.
Ohio State dominated most of the night and throughout the playoffs.
But Ohio State was actually the better team. The Buckeyes outgained Notre Dame by 445 yards to 308 yards. Howard completed his first 13 passes and was never stopped. Ohio State punted a total of once.
The Buckeyes advanced four games into the newly expanded playoffs. What great timing for Ohio State to have the tournament expand to 12 teams in a year when they weren’t even playing for the Big Ten title — their average score was 36-21. .
Ohio State was the No. 8 seed, but seeding meant little. Bad seeds won every game in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds, giving the Buckeyes the edge in this No. 7 vs. No. 8 title game showdown.
A great end to a season that’s almost over
Any concerns about November’s blowout loss to Michigan — Ohio State’s fourth straight loss in the series — have been put to rest for now, when Wolverine players tried to plant a flag at midfield and a scuffle broke out, giving Ohio State its fourth straight series loss.
The whole scene led many people, both inside and outside of the Buckeye world, to wonder if Day, in his sixth season, was done with his time on campus, where he hadn’t tasted a title in a decade. Ta.
Instead, the Ohio State marching band can dot the “I” with national title trophies next time. And Day, along with Urban Meyer (2014), Jim Tressel (2002), Woody Hayes (“3 Yards and a Cloud of Dust”), and Paul Brown (who later became his NFL namesake) , will join the list of coaches who have won the title. Cleveland Browns).
Also, Day’s .873 winning percentage entering this game was third among coaches with at least 50 games played, behind Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne.
Notre Dame’s loss means that no black coach has yet won a national title in college football. Freeman was trying to be the first.
Instead, a different kind of history.
This is the first time since 1942 that the Big Ten has won back-to-back titles. Last year’s champion, the University of Michigan, watched the game from home, but still played a special role in the Buckeyes’ redemption story that no one expected.
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