Ohio State beats Notre Dame to win CFP title

ATLANTA — Maybe Ohio State fans will like coach Ryan Day now.

Fifty-one days after suffering the worst loss of his career, Day led the No. 8 Buckeyes to a 34-23 victory over No. 7 Notre Dame in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T on Monday to capture its first title in 10 years. National Championship. night.

The Buckeyes led the Irish 31-7 midway through the third quarter, but the Irish kept fighting and tied the game at two with just over four minutes left. .

Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jaden Greathouse and tailback Jeremiah Love with 3:03 left in the third quarter. The two-pointer made the score 31-15. Then, after the final defensive stop, Leonard found Greathouse again for a 30-yard touchdown and Bux Collins completed a two-point attempt to pull the Irish to the 31 with 4:15 left. -twenty three.

The Buckeyes finally shut out the Irish when quarterback Will Howard threw a long pass to freshman Jeremiah Smith, who beat cornerback Christie Christian Gray, who carried the Irish 56 yards to the Irish's 10. That led to Jayden Fielding's 33-yard field goal to put the Irish out of the game. The Buckeyes led by 11 points with 26 seconds left.

The win was a bit of redemption for Day, whose team fell to rival Michigan, the so-called “Northern School,” for the fourth straight time, falling 13-10 at home on Nov. 30. were 21-point favorites, knocking them out of the Big Ten Championship Game.

But the loss didn't knock Ohio State out of the first 12-team CFP, as the Buckeyes defeated No. 9 Tennessee in the first round and in the quarterfinals. No. 1 Oregon State defeated No. 5 Texas in the semifinals before defeating the Fighting Irish in their 16th game of the season.

“I tell our guys all the time, when you first get on a bike, you don’t just ride the bike, you fall, how quickly do you learn to ride a bike from falling to getting back on the bike? A bicycle?” Dai said. “Well, that's life. You learn from going through difficult times like this.”

That's what made Monday night so special for Day and everyone around him.

“I think he's done a good job, and I think he understands the importance of this job,” Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly said this week. “That comes with the field. He's shown who he is and I think he's done an incredible job in this situation.”

Ohio State players said Day accepted some responsibility for another poor performance against Michigan. But this shocking loss might be just what the Buckeyes need to capture their seventh national title in program history.

“We have to address all the issues that the team has,” Buckeyes defensive tackle Tyrek Williams said. “Everyone spoke up and addressed the issues we had. The leadership on this team is like nothing I've ever seen. This wouldn't have happened a few years ago.”

With a 70-10 record, Day now ranks second (87.5%) among coaches who have played in at least 80 FBS games. Only Walter Camp, who coached at Stanford and Yale in the late 1800s, had a better winning percentage (90.7 percent).

With Michigan claiming its last four CFP titles after the 2023 season, the Big Ten has won back-to-back national championships for the first time since 1940-42, when Minnesota won back-to-back titles and Ohio State added its third title.

Monday's game was also redemption for Howard, a Kansas State product who struggled in his first game against Michigan. Against Notre Dame, Howard completed 17 of 21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdown passes, while running 16 times for 57 yards.

Quinshon Judkins, a Mississippi State transfer, ran for 100 yards 11 times and had three total touchdowns. Smith caught five passes for 88 yards and one score.

Leonard completed 22 of 31 passes for 255 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Irish. Greathouse caught six passes for 128 yards and two scores.

This is especially satisfying for the Big Ten because it comes from the SEC's backyard. The SEC was shut out of the CFP title game for the second straight season, something that hadn't happened since the 2004-05 season.

Notre Dame was trying to win its first national title since 1988, but its 13-game winning streak was snapped. It was Ohio State's seventh straight victory over the Irish.

After falling behind 7-0 at the start of the game, Ohio State responded quickly with a touchdown of its own and never took its foot off the gas pedal. On the Buckeyes' first possession, Trevyan Henderson ran 19 yards to move the ball to the Notre Dame 40. Judkins then ran 15 yards after catching a screen pass from Howard.

On second-and-5 on No. 8, Smith moved toward Howard. But then Smith stopped and ran back to his right. As Notre Dame's secondary broke through the defense, Smith caught a pass in the flat and easily sprinted into the end zone, tying the game at 7 with 14:10 left in the first half.

It was the first opening touchdown by the Notre Dame defense since a 49-7 home win over Stanford on Oct. 12.

Ohio State needed just two possessions to cross the 50 mark after two penalties backed up the Irish and forced a punt on their next possession. Howard rushed for 11 yards on third-and-5 from Notre Dame's 43. He ran three more runs on third-and-2 on No. 12. On the next play, Judkins stiffback Jaiden Ausberry went down and scored on a 9-yard run to score. 14-7, 6 minutes and 15 seconds left.

Things unraveled on the Irish's next possession. Tight end Mitchell Evans, 30, started the game on third-and-5. Center Pat Coogan's snap on Leonard hit Evans, who recovered the fumble at the Irish 26, forcing another punt. Kick.

The Buckeyes cruised to a 20-point victory with less than five minutes left in the first half. Howard was outstanding on two possessions in the third and seventh quarters. He threw a 19-yard pass to Brandon Inniss at the OSU 23. At the OSU 45, he completed a 20-yard field goal to a sliding Carnell Tate.

On second-and-4 from the Notre Dame 6, Howard found Judkins, who was all alone in the end zone for another touchdown, making it 21-7 with 27 seconds left in the half.

The Buckeyes had possession early in the second half and it didn't take long for them to score again. On the second play of the game, Judkins broke through the line and outran linebacker Jake Kizer. Cornerback Leonard Moore eventually pulled Judkins down 70 yards from the Irish fifth. Judkins scored his third touchdown of the game with a 1-yard rush three plays later, giving Ohio State a 28-7 lead.

The Irish failed to fake a 33-yard punt on their next possession, leading to Fielding's 46-yard field goal to make it 31-7.

The script on Notre Dame's first possession couldn't have been better. The Irish had six first downs in the first 9 minutes and 45 seconds, with Leonard running four times and throwing twice.

When the Buckeyes stopped Leonard on third-and-1 at the Ohio State 45 with 11 minutes left in the quarter, coach Marcus Freeman left the offense on the field. Leonard ran for three yards and first down. On third-and-3 from Ohio State's 7, Ohio State pulled Leonard down for a 2-yard gain. The Irish again went 4-1 and Leonard dropped his shoulder for a 4-yard gain.

Leonard made it to the end of the next play unscathed, giving the Irish a 7-0 lead with 5:15 left in the first quarter.

Unfortunately, that was about as good as it could get for Notre Dame's offense in the first half. The Irish went three-and-out on their next two drives and managed just 18 yards the rest of the first half.