Ohio State expected to be here. It wasn’t always as smooth as it would’ve liked, but the ultimate goal – the reason for that lavish offseason spending spree – is 60 minutes away.
The Buckeyes face the Fighting Irish here Monday in the national championship, a highly anticipated meeting between two colossal brands. Ohio State is favored by over a touchdown to win its first championship in a decade.
There’s no better blend of veterans and blossoming youth in the country. The Buckeyes retained older players like edge rusher Jack Sawyer and receiver Emeka Egbuka for one more title run. They acquired senior quarterback Will Howard in the transfer portal, and he’s been the steady hand needed. And their best two players, receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, aren’t even 20 years old.
Notre Dame presents challenges, especially with its hard-nosed style that resembles the Michigan teams that have given the Buckeyes such trouble. But Ohio State has more talent, is healthier and has reached peak form since the College Football Playoff began.
The Buckeyes are 6-2 all-time against Notre Dame, having won six consecutive meetings (The Irish’s victories came in the 1930s). Ohio State recently defeated the Irish in 2022 (21-10) and 2023 (17-14).
“I think when you go into games like this, there’s a lot of ways to look at it,” Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said. “There’s a lot of stats we can look at. The truth is we’ve played these guys three years in a row - well, this will be our third time in three years. So our guys know who these guys are and have a lot of respect for them and are excited to play in the game. This game has nothing to do with the past and what’s gone on. It’s all about what’s going to happen in this game, and that’s what we’ll focus on.”
Things to know about Monday’s national title game
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. Monday
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium (capacity 71,000)
TV: ESPN
Streaming: WatchESPN app
Broadcast crew: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit and Holly Rowe (sideline)
Weather: N/A (but it will be freezing outside)
Tickets: Resale sites have get-in prices starting at around $1,800
Notre Dame football social media: @NDFootball (X) | @NDFootball (IG) | Notre Dame Fighting Irish (FB)
Series history: Ohio State leads, 6-2
The line: Ohio State -8.5
Ohio State storylines ahead of the national championship
Validation for Day
Despite the Buckeyes’ consistent success, Day is oft criticized. The team hasn’t won a title under his leadership, but perhaps more importantly, his teams are 1-4 against Michigan. That includes a dreadful 13-10 home loss to the Wolverines a couple of months ago that had some believing Day’s job was at risk.
But Ohio State has rebounded emphatically from that unacceptable defeat. The Buckeyes destroyed Tennessee and Oregon before outlasting Texas to earn a title-game berth. For much of the regular season, people wondered if Ohio State could fulfill its immense potential – it entered the season a title favorite after a stellar offseason – and finally, when it mattered most, the team captured its greatest form.
“I think in life - that’s why they call them ‘growing pains,’ because in life you only grow when you go through difficult times,” Day said. “I say all the time to our players, the first time you got on a bike you didn’t just ride the bike, you fell down, and how quickly did you learn from falling down to get back on the bike to learn to ride a bike? Well, it’s like that in life. You learn from going through difficult times like that. I think our team has done that, but now we have to go finish what we started.
“There are great stories on this team individually. There are great stories on this team collectively. But I’ve said this before, the only way those stories get told is if we win, and we have an opportunity to become the ninth team in Ohio State history to win a National Championship and the third team in over 50 years, and there’s been a lot of really good football teams in Ohio State history.”
This would be a massive, career-defining victory for Day. He’d join Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney as the only active coaches to win a national championship.
Transfer portal and NIL success
Ohio State notably splurged last offseason to retain its in-house talent and acquire some important pieces. Howard has been outstanding over the past three games, providing exactly what the Buckeyes needed from their quarterback. Downs, who transferred from Alabama following coach Nick Saban’s retirement, is a sensation. The Buckeyes also snagged running back Quinshon Judkins from Ole Miss, and he’s teamed with TreVeyon Henderson to create a potent rushing attack.
Henderson was among many Buckeyes who passed on the NFL draft after last season. That list also includes Sawyer, Egbuka, and cornerbacks Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock. In an era where the transfer portal and NIL has such a strong impact, Ohio State is the shining example of how they can be used – if you’re willing to spend. The Buckeyes, fresh off watching Michigan win the championship, acted aggressively and have been rewarded for it.
A non-SEC title in SEC country
Ohio State or Notre Dame, both Midwest behemoths, will be crowned a champion in Atlanta, the heart of SEC country. This is the second consecutive championship that doesn’t feature a team in America’s best conference after Michigan and Washington squared off a year ago.
While the SEC’s depth is still unmatched, the top of the conference has proven inferior to the Big Ten’s over the past two years. The aforementioned effects of NIL and the transfer portal have played a sizable role in trimming some of these rosters, but the SEC nonetheless expects to have a title-game participant most years.
“We basically showed it this past playoff game (against SEC member Texas), so you can take that however you want to,” Hancock, a Suwanee native, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The SEC will continue dominating talk around the landscape, as it always does. But the discussion entering next season will be a bit different. Will the conference’s top team(s) get back into a championship game?
Ring count
This would be Ohio State’s ninth national championship, which would snap a tie with Harvard in the all-time rankings (Harvard has not won a title in 1919). The Buckeyes would be even with USC in championships, having won twice since the Trojans’ last sat atop the college football world in 2004. Ohio State would still be behind Michigan (10; last in 2023), Notre Dame (13; last in 1988), Princeton (15; last in 1922), Alabama (16; last in 2020) and Yale (18; last in 1927) in total championships.
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