RJ Young
Fox Sports National College Football Analyst
The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff gave us what we asked for: an eventual national champion in a tournament made up of worthy contenders.
Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes proved to be the last team standing Monday night, holding off Notre Dame’s comeback attempt to pull off a memorable 34-23 victory over the Fighting Irish to become just the second team since 1960 to win the national championship. Two losses in one season.
And as Monday night’s CFP national title game went from a blowout to a game that was in the balance with less than a minute to play, Ohio State and Notre Dame revealed truths about their past and future.
Here are five takeaways from Monday night’s CFP National Championship game:
1. The Fighting Irish looked ready when the game started.
Notre Dame’s game plan worked. Take the ball and make Ohio State do what it hasn’t done the entire College Football Playoff: play from behind.
Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock scripted a perfect first series. His offense drove through the Buckeyes on the opening drive, and it was methodical: a total of 18 plays, 75 yards in nine minutes and 45 seconds to put Ohio State back on the scoreboard for the first time in the 2024 CFP.
And Riley Leonard is unstoppable. He ran the ball nine times for 34 yards on the opening drive and finished it with a quick TD. Against Penn State, Leonard ran the ball 12 times on designed rushes. But it was clear to everyone that Leonard was already feeling sick from the penalty that comes from carrying the ball.
Yes, Notre Dame scored. Yes, Notre Dame led 7-0. But Leonard vomited on the sideline from exhaustion and just 22 minutes later was asked to return to the game after Ohio State tied the game. At that point, it looked like Leonard, and as a result, Notre Dame had little left in the tank to finish the fight.
The Fighting Irish ran just nine plays after that for a total of 20 yards to end the first half.
2. Ohio State QB Will Howard It was excellent.
Will Howard, who was brought to Columbus to lead Ohio State to this game, surgically dissected Notre Dame’s defense on Monday night. The senior QB completed his first 13 passes to set the record for consecutive completions in a College Football Playoff championship game.
His eighth completion of the night went to senior Emeka Egbuka, a 12-yard completion for a first down, marking Ebuka’s 202nd reception at Ohio State, making him the Buckeyes’ all-time leader in receptions.
In the first half alone, Howard led the Buckeyes on three straight scoring drives, hitting 14 of 15 passes for 144 yards with two TDs against the nation’s No. 2 passing defense.
Howard attempted just six passes in the second half, completing three of them, and when all was said and done, he finished 17 of 21 for 231 yards with two passing touchdowns and a 57-yard touchdown en route to being named Offensive MVP.
3. Jaden Great House It is strength.
The Fighting Irish were done, and then Jaden Greathouse showed up again when they needed him most. After accumulating the first 100 receiving yards by any Notre Dame wide receiver this season, he made two Buckeye defenders miss en route to just their second touchdown of the game for Notre Dame. With just under five minutes remaining, he popped back in on a 30-yard TD reception that cut the score to one possession.
Greathouse, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound sophomore from Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, caught just one pass in each of Notre Dame’s last three regular-season games, just two against Indiana in the CFP opener, and one Against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But in his two biggest games of the season, he recorded at least five catches and 100 yards. The service was incredible. Greathouse is an explosive star, and Notre Dame will benefit from the likes of him and Jordan Faison next year.
4. Jeremiah Smith He came in the clutch when Ohio State needed him most.
With just 2:45 left to play and holding their own 36-yard line after three straight rushes from Howard, Ohio State’s OC Chip Kelly took advantage of the setup. With Notre Dame absorbed into the box and one-on-one coverage on the outside against rookie phenom Jeremiah Smith, Howard unleashed a kickoff that Smith caught 54 yards downfield to secure the Buckeyes’ first goal.
The player with the most promise, the most excitement, was called upon to seal the play that set up the game-winning field goal. And it came through. It’s rare to see a true freshman mean so much to a national title team, yet Smith joins Trevor Lawrence and Maurice Clarett as one of the most impactful freshmen to ever grace the sport.
5. The balance of power shifted north of the Mason-Dixon line for the first time this century.
For the first time this century, the Big Ten saw two of its members win national titles in back-to-back seasons: Michigan and Ohio State.
The SEC also missed the national title game for two consecutive seasons for the first time since 2004 and 2005.
RJ Young is a national college football writer, analyst for FOX Sports, and host of the podcast “The Number One College Football Show.” Follow him on @RJ_Young.
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