The Buckeyes celebrated a 34-23 victory over Notre Dame in the National Championship game Monday. Credit: Sandra Fu | Photo Editor
ATLANTA — Six weeks ago, the Buckeyes were written off for dead.
Now, they’re national champions.
Ohio against the world, indeed.
The Buckeyes secured their ninth national title Monday night, defeating Notre Dame 34-23 in the first year of the 12-team playoff at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The victory comes a decade after Ohio State claimed the first-ever, four-team College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015.
“After all the things that have been said throughout the year, these guys are going to be cemented as one of the best stories in Ohio State history and one of the best football teams ever,” head coach Ryan Day said.
It was a game that, at times, looked like a Buckeye blowout, and at other moments was close enough to make the Buckeye faithful nervous. In the end, Ohio State made big plays when it needed to, led by game MVP Will Howard, who completed 17-of-21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushed for 57 yards.
“When you get into big games like this, whoever is able to have the poise in the noise and be able to overcome adversity because it wasn’t always pretty today,” Howard said. “It wasn’t always perfect. It’s never going to be. But I think the team that we have and the leadership that we have with Coach Day, just the resilience this team has shown all year, it’s just unbelievable.”
Notre Dame took control with an opening drive that lasted nearly 10 minutes and spanned 18 plays, setting a new record for the CFP National Championship. Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard eventually ran up the middle for a touchdown, deflating the Ohio State fans in attendance.
“That first drive was kind of uncharacteristic of us,” linebacker Cody Simon said. “We expected to go out there and kind of dominate that first drive, and they had a good first 15 plays, and they were really getting into second and third, and shorts.”
With momentum seemingly against them, the Buckeyes responded in a big way, scoring 21 unanswered points.
On Ohio State’s first possession, quarterback Howard found a wide-open Jeremiah Smith, who jogged in for a 5-yard touchdown.
Notre Dame’s next three drives in the first half went nowhere, as the Fighting Irish managed only 3 combined yards across seven plays.
Ohio State’s offense then put its collective foot on the accelerator.
Running back Quinshon Judkins stiff-armed an Irish defender into the ground, running through another en route to a 9-yard touchdown that put the Buckeyes up 14-7.
As the Ohio State offense drove down the field, a 15-yard catch by Smith marked Howard’s 13th straight pass connection to start the game, shattering the national championship record for most consecutive completions.
Less than two minutes later, Howard scrambled to his right and lobbed an off-kilter, cross-body throw to Judkins alone in the middle of the end zone, pushing the Buckeyes lead to 21-7 before the half.
Howard said that coming into the season, his offensive coaches emphasized making completions first and foremost to keep the ball moving and stay on schedule, a philosophy he stuck to in the biggest game of his career.
“It may not always be pretty, and you may have to go pick it up with your legs,” Howard said. “I’ve got to give all the credit to my guys, my O-line giving me time, and those guys, my receivers. We’ve got
the best receiving room in the country, it’s not even close.”
Out of the break, Notre Dame’s defense held up — for one play.
After an incomplete pass, Judkins took a handoff up the middle and exploded for 70 yards down to the Irish’s 5-yard line. Three plays later, Judkins punched in his third score of the game and extended Ohio State’s lead to 28-7.
Looking for something positive, Notre Dame faced a fourth-and-2 from its 37-yard line. The Irish sent out their punt unit, prompting a roar from Buckeye fans in Atlanta.
Wide receiver Brandon Inniss, positioned deep to field the punt, began jumping to alert his teammates to a possible fake.
Sure enough, Notre Dame quarterback Steve Angeli took the snap, rolled right and threw the ball toward receiver Jordan Faison, who could not handle it. The incompletion prompted an eruption from the Ohio State sideline.
Jayden Fielding ended the Buckeye drive with a 46-yard field goal that put Ohio State up 31-7.
The Irish would not, however, go quietly.
Leonard found wideout Jaden Greathouse, who bounced off Ohio State cornerback Jermaine Matthews Jr. and took the ball 34 yards for a touchdown. A two-point conversion narrowed the Buckeyes’ lead to 31-15 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
The Ohio State offense seemed ready to pad the lead with a scoring drive of their own, as wide receiver Emeka Egbuka took a touch pass and maneuvered through the defense. But approaching the red zone, Notre Dame linebacker Drayk Bowen punched the ball loose before Egbuka hit the ground, giving the ball back to the Irish.
The takeaway was Notre Dame’s 33rd of the season, and the Irish lead the country with 158 points off of turnovers.
A 30-yard completion by Leonard — and two defensive holding penalties — put the Irish inside Ohio State’s 10-yard line and eventually brought up fourth down.
Although the Irish were three for four on fourth-down conversions, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman sent kicker Mitch Jeter on for a short field goal that he promptly doinked off the left upright.
But an Ohio State punt gave the Irish another chance to make it a one-possession game, and they did just that.
A six-play drive and 30-yard touchdown catch for Greathouse cut the Buckeyes’ lead to 31-23.
The tension continued to build as Ohio State, needing a few first downs to clinch a national title, faced a third-and-12 from its 34-yard line. Howard launched the ball down the field to Smith, who hauled in a 56-yard catch and set Ohio State up at the 10-yard line.
After several conservative rushing plays, Fielding put up a 33-yard field goal to clinch the game and the title.
“I just thought to myself, only one National Championship, you only get one opportunity a year to do this, let’s just lay it on the line and put it out there and be aggressive,” Day said. “And that’s what we did.
In the end, Day said he feels immense pride toward his team and the program at large.
“I just can’t say enough about our guys and what they’ve overcome to get to this point. They now have something to show for it.”
