Ohio State bounces off Notre Dame to win the National Football Championship

Buckeyes they’re back on top, after Ohio State defeated Notre Dame, 34-23, to win the College Football Playoff national championship game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday night.

Ohio State has now won nine college football titles, tied with USC for fourth all-time among the NCAAs officially recognized championships.

This is also the first title since the 2014 season, which was the inaugural College Football Playoff.

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The Buckeyes have been a completely different team since losing to Michigan in their rivalry game. And after convincingly defeating Tennessee (42-17), Oregon in the Rose Bowl (41-21) and Texas in the Cotton Bowl (28-14), Ohio State used its high-octane offense to break through next to Notre Dame conquer all.

But this game wasn’t like Ohio State’s previous wins during these playoffs, as the Fighting Irish really made a statement on an 18-play drive that killed more than nine minutes of the first quarter.

And it’s all thanks to the hard work of running back Riley Leonard and the Notre Dame offensive line.

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Leonard ran nine times for 34 yards and a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 at the Ohio State five-yard line. ESPN even reported that Leonard ran to the sideline, threw up and stumbled a bit before sitting on the bench. He also appears to have told teammates that he landed on the ball on one of the runs, which may have caused the stomach upset.

However, the tides of momentum quickly shifted to Ohio State’s side, as Will Howard and his group of talented weapons not only responded, but took over when they had the ball in their hands.

The ensuing drive went 11 plays and 75 yards, as freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith capped the drive with a perfect play call in which he acted like he was running behind Howard on the pre-snap motion, but drove into the ground and walked in the end zone. zone with no one in sight.

Ryan Day’s squad not only tied the game, but the defense stepped up as they forced back-to-back three-and-outs on Notre Dame’s second and third downs. And the Buckeyes offense used that to their advantage with two more touchdowns before the end of the first half.

Quinshon Judkins, an explosive runner who splits time with TreVeyon Henderson, scored both of those touchdowns, the first of which was a nine-yard run in which he fought through multiple tackles to get over the line. Then he was wide open in the end zone on a Howard throw with 27 seconds left in the second quarter to give the Buckeyes a 21-7 lead.

And if that wasn’t blowout enough, Judkins scored his third touchdown of the night on the opening drive of the second half – a one-yard run that followed his 70-yard run on the second play of the half to immediately give the Buckeyes a first-and-goal.

Judkins finished the game with 100 yards rushing on just 11 carries, as well as his two catches for 21 yards.

There was concern for Ohio State, though, when Notre Dame cut it to a two-point game after Leonard found Jaden Greathouse for a 34-yard touchdown and converted the two-point attempt to make it 31-15.

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Concerns arose over a fumble by Emeka Egbuka after he went 24 yards on a catch and run. It was Ohio State’s first shutout since their Nov. 2 game against Penn State.

Notre Dame took advantage of that turnover to go downfield, and Leonard found himself on the edge until an incomplete pass to Greathouse led to a fourth down from Ohio State’s nine-yard line with 9:27 left in the game.

Given the score, you’d think head coach Marcus Freeman wanted to try his luck at another touchdown, but kicker Mitch Jeter and the special teams unit ran onto the field. And the interesting play request had no effect, as Jeter’s 27-yard field goal flew wide of the left post—he hooked it.

The game wasn’t over after the defense forced a punt, and Leonard was able to find Greathouse once again, this time on a beautifully thrown ball and an even better 30-yard catch. Needing another two-point conversion, Jordan Faison took the handoff and it looked like Ohio State had a sniff, but he threw it to Beaux Collins for the go-ahead touchdown.

Now a one-score game, the Buckeyes had to dig deep with the Fighting Irish knowing that a stop gave them a chance to make a complete comeback.

Aided by a third-and-11, offensive coordinator Chip Kelly called a bold deep pass from Howard to Smith, and despite the freshman not receiving a single reception in the second half, he delivered the dagger — a 57-yard catch to set the Buckeyes up on the line. nine yards on the two minute warning.

The Buckeyes could have run out of time at that point with the Fighting Irish using all their timeouts, and a celebration ensued.

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In the box score, Leonard was 20-for-29 for 240 yards with two touchdowns while also rushing for a team-high 40 yards on 17 carries to go with his score on the ground. Greathouse also had 11 yards on five receptions.

For the Buckeyes, Smith led the way with 89 yards on five receptions, while Egbuka had six catches for 64 yards. Howard finished the game 17 of 21 for 231 yards and also ran for 57 yards on 16 carries.

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