Ohio State Dominates Early, Holds OnTo Top Notre Dame 34-23 for CFP TitleBy John ChuhranCaMMVets Media1-21-2025
How do you stop perfect?
That was the question the Notre Dame (14-2) coaching staff must have been asking themselves during the opening Ohio State (14-2) drive in Monday night’s College Football Championship Game. By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock to end the first half, the answer was clear.
You can’t stop perfect. But perfect doesn’t last forever in sports, so you can remind your players to continue to fight hard and be ready to take advantage when your opponent eventually makes a mistake.
Whatever Notre Dame leadership said to their players kept them motivated and playing hard the rest of the way. Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, the Ohio State mistakes didn’t start happening until well into the second half. By then, the Buckeyes had built a 28-7 lead. Notre Dame never quit and Ohio State made several additional errors, but the game clock continued to creep towards zero. Time eventually ran out with the Buckeyes ultimately sealing a close 34-23 victory.
“It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations,” said winning Head Coach Ryan Day, “and at the point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out (they) just kept swinging and kept fighting. 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. There was a point where not a lot of people had that vision, but these guys did and they saw it through. Ohio State might not be for everybody, but it's for these guys and I'm really proud of them."
It was the seventh football national championship earned by Ohio State (1942, 1954, 1957, 1968, 2002, 2014). Day, who faced a firestorm of criticism calling for his dismissal just six weeks ago after losing 13-10 to arch rival Michigan, improved his career record to 70-10. Among coaches with 50 or more games, Day ranks third in all-time winning percentage (.875) behind only Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne and 19th century pioneer Walter Camp of Yale and Stanford.
"God made it hard for a reason," Day said. "You just never know what's in your path along the way. But this game can give you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It can take you to your knees some days as a player and as a coach. I've been there before ... if you surround yourself with great people, you're resilient and you believe in the guys around you and you just keep fighting and putting one foot in front of the other, you give yourself another chance. But I understand now. It all makes sense. And here we are. I couldn't feel better."
Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 18 plays that chopped 9:45 off the clock and gave the Fighting Irish an early 7-0 lead, but the Ohio State defense adjusted and held the opposition to just seven plays and a net gain of 3 yards for the rest of the half. Ohio State’s Cody Simon, who finished with a game-high 8 tackles and was named defensive player of the game – was in the middle of the disruptive Buckeye defense. Once they had the ball, the Buckeyes were an unstoppable machine in the opening 30 minutes. They only had three possessions, but all of them were sustained drives (75, 76 and 80 yards) that ended in touchdowns and gave Ohio State a 21-7 lead at intermission. Not every individual play was effective, but the first downs kept coming. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard – named offensive player of the game (17-for21 for 231 yards and 2 TD passing, 16 rushes for 57 yards) – completed 15 of 16 passes for 144 yards during the relentlessly effective first 30 minutes of play. (cont'd)
How do you stop perfect?
That was the question the Notre Dame (14-2) coaching staff must have been asking themselves during the opening Ohio State (14-2) drive in Monday night’s College Football Championship Game. By the time the final seconds ticked off the clock to end the first half, the answer was clear.
You can’t stop perfect. But perfect doesn’t last forever in sports, so you can remind your players to continue to fight hard and be ready to take advantage when your opponent eventually makes a mistake.
Whatever Notre Dame leadership said to their players kept them motivated and playing hard the rest of the way. Unfortunately for the Fighting Irish, the Ohio State mistakes didn’t start happening until well into the second half. By then, the Buckeyes had built a 28-7 lead. Notre Dame never quit and Ohio State made several additional errors, but the game clock continued to creep towards zero. Time eventually ran out with the Buckeyes ultimately sealing a close 34-23 victory.
“It’s a great story about a bunch of guys who have just overcome some really tough situations,” said winning Head Coach Ryan Day, “and at the point where there’s a lot of people that counted us out (they) just kept swinging and kept fighting. 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. There was a point where not a lot of people had that vision, but these guys did and they saw it through. Ohio State might not be for everybody, but it's for these guys and I'm really proud of them."
It was the seventh football national championship earned by Ohio State (1942, 1954, 1957, 1968, 2002, 2014). Day, who faced a firestorm of criticism calling for his dismissal just six weeks ago after losing 13-10 to arch rival Michigan, improved his career record to 70-10. Among coaches with 50 or more games, Day ranks third in all-time winning percentage (.875) behind only Notre Dame legend Knute Rockne and 19th century pioneer Walter Camp of Yale and Stanford.
"God made it hard for a reason," Day said. "You just never know what's in your path along the way. But this game can give you the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. It can take you to your knees some days as a player and as a coach. I've been there before ... if you surround yourself with great people, you're resilient and you believe in the guys around you and you just keep fighting and putting one foot in front of the other, you give yourself another chance. But I understand now. It all makes sense. And here we are. I couldn't feel better."
Notre Dame took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in 18 plays that chopped 9:45 off the clock and gave the Fighting Irish an early 7-0 lead, but the Ohio State defense adjusted and held the opposition to just seven plays and a net gain of 3 yards for the rest of the half. Ohio State’s Cody Simon, who finished with a game-high 8 tackles and was named defensive player of the game – was in the middle of the disruptive Buckeye defense. Once they had the ball, the Buckeyes were an unstoppable machine in the opening 30 minutes. They only had three possessions, but all of them were sustained drives (75, 76 and 80 yards) that ended in touchdowns and gave Ohio State a 21-7 lead at intermission. Not every individual play was effective, but the first downs kept coming. Ohio State quarterback Will Howard – named offensive player of the game (17-for21 for 231 yards and 2 TD passing, 16 rushes for 57 yards) – completed 15 of 16 passes for 144 yards during the relentlessly effective first 30 minutes of play. (cont'd)
Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love
When Ohio State took the second half kickoff and took just five plays to advance 75 yards as transfer from Mississippi Quinshon Judkins (who finished with 100 yards on the ground and a pair of rushing touchdowns on 11 carries, and added three receptions for 21 yard and another TD) sped through a gap cleared by the Ohio State offensive line and raced 70 yards to set up the score that made it 28-7, it appeared that the game was going to be a rout. But Notre Dame came alive as quarterback Riley Leonard (22-for-31 for 255 yards and 2 TD passing, 17 rushes for 40 yards and 1 TD) twice found Jaden Greathouse (6 receptions for 121 yards) with touchdown passes (of 30 and 34 yards). A pair of successful two-point conversions narrowed the gap to 31-23, putting the pressure of a one-score game back on the Buckeyes.
With just 2:38 on the clock in a third-and-11 situation on the Ohio State 34, Howard dropped back and launched a high, arcing through to freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith (five catches for 88 yards and a TD), who pulled in the pigskin and was brought down on the Notre Dame 10.
"We felt like we had an advantage with Jeremiah on that shot and we talked about it all week," Day said. "We really hadn't thrown one all game and it was like, ‘you know what? (The) game’s on the line, let's just go.’ 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. And that's what we did."
A penalty and three ineffective runs left the Buckeyes in a fourth-and-15 situation as kicker Jayden Fielding came on to make a 33-yard field goal that gave Ohio State the breathing room that comes with a two-score advantage. With just 29 seconds left, there was no time for the Fighting Irish to complete the comeback and Ohio State celebrated the 34-23 win.
(-CaMMVets Media-)
With just 2:38 on the clock in a third-and-11 situation on the Ohio State 34, Howard dropped back and launched a high, arcing through to freshman sensation Jeremiah Smith (five catches for 88 yards and a TD), who pulled in the pigskin and was brought down on the Notre Dame 10.
"We felt like we had an advantage with Jeremiah on that shot and we talked about it all week," Day said. "We really hadn't thrown one all game and it was like, ‘you know what? (The) game’s on the line, let's just go.’ 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. And that's what we did."
A penalty and three ineffective runs left the Buckeyes in a fourth-and-15 situation as kicker Jayden Fielding came on to make a 33-yard field goal that gave Ohio State the breathing room that comes with a two-score advantage. With just 29 seconds left, there was no time for the Fighting Irish to complete the comeback and Ohio State celebrated the 34-23 win.
(-CaMMVets Media-)