by Photo via Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch
After flipping the script on a disappointing regular season, the Ohio State football team has dominated its way through the first edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff, setting up a date with Notre Dame in the National Championship. While the Fighting Irish certainly have their warts, they’ve looked great as of late.
When former Buckeye player Marcus Freeman was promoted to Head Coach just over three years ago, Notre Dame wasn’t in too good of a spot. They did well under previous coach Brian Kelly, but never well enough to make a real push for a National Championship. Now, clearly, things have changed.
The Irish started their season off on a high note, beating Texas A&M on the road before falling in perhaps the biggest upset of the year, at home to Northern Illinois. Many thought that the shocking defeat had ended Notre Dame’s hopes of making the CFP at all, but they have gone on absolute tear in the weeks since. The Fighting Irish went undefeated through the rest of the regular season including wins against the likes of Louisville, Georgia Tech, Navy, Army and USC, and then cruised through the early rounds of the playoffs, knocking out Indiana, Georgia and Penn State.
Riley Leonard, a former Duke transfer, runs the show at quarterback and while he has his flaws getting the ball down field, he’s certainly done his job. In his first season with the Irish, he’s thrown for 2,606 yards with 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions. While those stats may not look very impressive, it’s his abilities with his legs that make him so effective, as he has 866 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns on the season.
Perhaps Notre Dame’s best overall player is running back Jeremiyah Love, who will be a hot name for the 2026 NFL Draft. This season, Love has run for 1,122 yards and 17 touchdowns, using his strength to break tackles. Love doesn’t get all the carries, though, as Jadarian Price and Aneyas Williams have 733 and 219 yards, respectively, on the season.
As expected with such a run-heavy offense, the receiving room isn’t exactly a loaded group. Wideout Jaden Greathouse, who’s been playing quite well recently, leads the team in yards with 464, with Beaux Collins just behind him at 458. Tight end Mitchell Evans has 329 yards and receiver Jordan Faison rounds out the top-four with 350.
Defensively, Notre Dame has graded out very well this season. They’re ninth in the country in yards given up per game and their pass defense is where they hang their hat. The Irish rank second in total passing yards against (Ohio State is first) and they boast a strong secondary, led by safety Xavier Watts. Notre Dame’s run defense does leave something to be desired, however, as they rank 33rd in the country in rushing yards against. TreVeyon Henderson certainly had quite the day against Texas and the Buckeyes will need both him and Quinshon Judkins to be at their best.
Winning at the line of scrimmage might be the key to the game, as Notre Dame’s offensive line has suffered some injury blows and Ohio State’s defensive line has been absolutely wrecking games lately. The edge pairing of Jack Sawyer and J.T. Tuimoloau is as formidable as any in the sport and defensive tackles Tyleik Williams and Ty Hamilton as well as linebackers Cody Simon and Sonny Styles have been excellent.
Offensively, things worked out for the Buckeyes against Texas, despite the Longhorns’ gameplan completely shutting down wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Now, Notre Dame will certainly try to match Texas’s gameplan and keep a high safety shadowing Smith at all times. It will be paramount for quarterback Will Howard and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly to find ways to get him involved because as we saw last week, this offense has a tendency to sputter when the stars underperform.
Finally, let’s not forget the recent history between Ohio State and Notre Dame. Two years ago, the Buckeyes easily handled the Fighting Irish in Columbus, 21-10, but last year, Ohio State traveled to South Bend and beat Notre Dame on a last-second touchdown. Tensions were high on both sides and everybody remembers Ryan Day’s passionate postgame interview where he criticized the words of former Notre Dame Head Coach Lou Holtz.
Now, the two teams will face off for the third consecutive year and this time, it’s in the most important game in all of the sport. Notre Dame hasn’t reached the National Championship since the 2012 season (42-14 loss to Alabama) and haven’t won it since 1988. Ohio State’s had a bit more success as they last made the final game in the shortened 2020 campaign (52-24 loss to Alabama) and last won it a decade ago in the 2014-15 season. All in all, in a season marked by change, a final clash of revived superpowers is outstanding for college football.
