Ohio State Defeats Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Final to win the National Title
With their 34-23 victory over Notre Dame, the Buckeyes became the first national champion to lose twice in eighteen years. Ohio State held a commanding lead against the Fighting Irish for the first forty minutes of the game, but they had to hold off a late rally by Notre Dame to win.
With 12:46 left in the third quarter, Ohio State took a decisive 31-7 lead, but Notre Dame rallied with 16 points in a row. With 4:15 remaining, Riley Leonard and Jaden Greathouse connected for a 30-yard touchdown and a successful two-point conversion, cutting the Irish’s deficit to eight points. But just before the two-minute warning, Will Howard hit freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith for a big gain, sealing the victory for Ohio State on a critical third down.
After stopping Ohio State’s quarterback keepers on first and second downs, Notre Dame turned to its man coverage in the secondary, a tactic they had used all season. Ohio State’s offensive line gave Howard plenty of time to establish separation despite the Irish defense’s pressure.
Howard completed his first 13 passes and running back Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns, allowing Ohio State to bounce back from a difficult Notre Dame opening drive that led to a 7-0 lead following an 18-play, 75-yard march. Ohio State dominated the rest of the game until the middle of the third quarter.
A score to a wide-open receiver After Jeremiah Smith tied the score, Ohio State’s next three possessions ended with Judkins finding the end zone. Shortly before halftime, he scored another touchdown while unmarked in the end zone after collecting a 6-yard throw from Howard.
This was the second time Ohio State has successfully demoralised an opponent with a late first-half toss to a running back, and Judkins’ touchdown reception was his second of the season. TreVeyon Henderson had converted a similar goal on a 75-yard screen ball shortly before halftime in the Cotton Bowl semifinal, helping the Buckeyes defeat Texas 28–14.
Judkins once again had an influence as Ohio State took the ball to start the third quarter. A spectacular 70-yard run on the second offensive play of the quarter greatly benefited the 75-yard drive, of which his 1-yard touchdown run came on just the fifth play.
With 100 rushing yards at the end of the game, Judkins had one of his best Buckeye games ever. He and Henderson had taken turns as the main rushers throughout the season, and this championship game was the first time he had reached the 100-yard mark in a game since Judkins’ 173-yard haul against Marshall in Week 3.
Notre Dame’s Unsuccessful Attempt at A Comeback
The Irish, who started the game as 8.5-point underdogs, mainly depended on Riley Leonard’s agility in the early going. During the 18-play opening drive, Leonard, who has been a crucial rushing asset for Notre Dame all season, ran the ball nine times. After his ninth carry ended in a touchdown run, Notre Dame fans began to believe that their team could contend with an Ohio State team that had shown signs of underwhelming performance in the regular season.
The early optimism quickly subsided before making an effort to reappear in the second half. The rest of the first half was a major offensive struggle for Notre Dame, as they only managed three yards on their next three possessions. Interestingly, the only reason the Irish did not lose yardage after their touchdown was a one-play drive with a 7-yard completion on the third possession.
When Judkins scored his third touchdown, extending Ohio State’s advantage to 28-7, it became even more clear that Notre Dame’s chances of a comeback were seriously jeopardised by halftime. After the Irish’s first drive of the third quarter ended in a three-and-out, backup quarterback Steve Angeli completed a deft fake punt.
Angeli took the snap after positioning himself in the backfield before the punter. His accurate pass found a sliding Jordan Faison, who was past the first down markers, but the ball escaped Faison’s grasp and ended up as an incomplete pass.
There was a glimpse of optimism when Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka fumbled in their territory, allowing Notre Dame to cut the lead to 16 points. However, Marcus Freeman, the coach of Notre Dame, made a dubious choice that backfired, and with 9:27 left, the Irish were still behind by 16.
When faced with a fourth-and-goal situation at the Ohio State 9-yard line, Freeman decided to try to cut the score to 13 by sending kicker Mitch Jeter onto the field for a field goal. Ohio State’s lead would have been reduced to one possession with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, same as their successful try after their second score.
Jeter, who had previously made the game-winning field goal against Penn State in the Orange Bowl, regrettably hit the kick off the left upright, but thirteen points still meant a two-touchdown disadvantage.
“I just thought instead of being down 16, let’s try to go down 13,” Freeman explained. “I know it’s still a two-score game, but you have a better probability of getting 14 points than you do 16 points. If it was a shorter 4th and goal situation, I probably would have gone for it, but I just felt 4th and nine was not a great chance for us to make that and decided to kick it, and we didn’t make it.”
When Greathouse hit the end zone on the next drive, the decision to try a field goal became even more perplexing.
Ohio State Met Expectations During the Postseason
The 2024 season was considered a make-or-break year for Ohio State after the 2023 season ended with yet another loss to Michigan, which prevented the Buckeyes from making it to the final four-team College Football Playoff while the Wolverines won the national championship.
Some draft-eligible players, such as Henderson, DE Jack Sawyer, and DB Denzel Burke, chose to stay in Columbus for another season even though Marvin Harrison Jr. left for the NFL. The Buckeyes were able to fill the vacancy left by 2023 starter Kyle McCord by successfully recruiting Judkins and Alabama defensive back Caleb Downs, as well as Howard from Kansas State, using a sizable amount of NIL cash to entice players from the transfer portal.
There was also a significant coaching change. Coach Ryan Day appointed Chip Kelly, a former Oregon and Philadelphia Eagles coach and former UCLA head coach, to be the team’s offensive coordinator and play-caller after he had successfully led the Ohio State offence since replacing Urban Meyer.
“For him to come and leave a head coaching position to come work with me meant a lot,” Day said after the game, “because he’s obviously someone who’s a mentor to me and certainly would not be where I am without him.”
There were irregularities during the regular season. With a final record of 10-2, Ohio State was once again unable to earn a spot in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes suffered their first loss to an unbeaten Oregon, when Howard was down as time ran out and Ohio State was unable to make a field goal that could have won the game. They also lost to Michigan for the fourth time in a row, as the offensively beleaguered Wolverines won 13–10 in Columbus, which resulted in a postgame brawl after they threw their flag on the pitch.
Despite their successes, Ohio State had challenges. Despite its great skill, the offence was prone to several disruptions, which was reminiscent of a brief stretch in the second part of the season.
Fans were worried about Day’s job security because of this inconsistency, especially the loss to Michigan, especially if Ohio State didn’t win the national championship despite his excellent time as head coach. Prior to this season’s playoffs, Ohio State had a 66-10 record since taking over the position full-time in 2019; Michigan was responsible for four of those defeats, and the team had dropped two of their previous four seasons.
The postseason, however, brought about a change. Ohio State was unbeatable in this postseason, much like their first year in the four-team playoffs, when they defeated Alabama and Oregon on their way to the national championship. After defeating Tennessee in their postseason debut, the Buckeyes dominated Oregon in the Rose Bowl, taking a decisive 31-0 lead in the second quarter. They went on to defeat Texas 28–14 in the semifinal.
Ohio State didn’t score their first touchdown until the second quarter of Monday night’s game because of a long opening drive. On the pitch, however, it was clear that Ohio State was the better squad. The college football season finished with Ohio State at the top of the standings as the red and white confetti dropped from the Mercedes-Benz Stadium’s rafters.
“God made it hard for a reason,” Day explained. “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 … but if you surround yourself with great people, you’re resilient, and you believe in the guys around you, and you just keep fighting and keep putting one foot in front of the other, you give yourself another chance.”
