It was a cold and windy day in downtown Atlanta. The city was the sight of the College Football National Championship, luckily the weather didn’t play a factor since the game was held inside of the spectacular domed Mercedes Benz Stadium. Monday evening showcased the two best teams of the season battling for a right to be the last team standing and holding the trophy. Notre Dame had won 13 games in a row heading into the championship game, while Ohio State was riding the wave of momentum from their impressive CFP wins over Tennessee, Oregon and Texas. Needless to say that both of these teams were battle tested and deserving of the opportunity.
With the wait finally over, Notre Dame would open up the game with an eight minute drive that ended in a Riley Leonard touchdown run. The Irish took an early 7-0 lead but Ohio State would answer immediately with an impressive first drive of their own. Six minutes into their drive, Jeremiah Smith caught an 8 yard touchdown pass from Will Howard tying the game at seven with 14 minutes left in the second quarter. Ohio State’s defense would shut down Notre Dame’s offense for the rest of the half giving the Buckeyes a huge opportunity to take the lead. On the final two possessions of the half, Ohio State scored on back-to-back drives courtesy of two Quinshon Judkins rushing touchdowns. At the half the Buckeyes led Notre Dame 21-7 with the chance to build on to their lead coming out of the locker room as they would get the ball to start the third. Quinshon Judkins earned his third touchdown of the game off of a seven minute scoring drive to bump of the lead to 28-7.
Trailing by three scores, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was feeling desperate knowing he had to take a chance to get back into the game. On a 4th and three call from their own 35 yard line, Freeman opted for a fake punt that backfired and set Ohio State up with a short field. The Irish defense however ended up bailing out their coach by holding the scarlet and gray to just three points. Down now 31-7, Notre Dame knew that had to score immediately and quick with time running low in the third quarter. Jaden Greathouse would receive a beautiful 34 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Riley Leonard to make it a two score game at 31-15. Ohio State went three and out on their next possession, setting up the Irish perfectly to capitalize with a scoring drive. Notre Dame would find themselves in a fourth and goal situation on the nine yard line with nine minutes left in the game. This made a tough decision for Marcus Freeman, do you kick it and make it a 13 point game or do you be aggressive and go for the touchdown to make a one score game? Freeman elected to take the points and play it smart or so he thought.
Kicker Mitch Jeter had a huge year for Notre Dame, kicking three game winners but with 9:27 to go in the National Championship he would miss a huge opportunity as the 27 yard attempt bounced off the left upright leaving the Irish empty handed. Ohio State now controlled their own fate with a crucial drive in the fourth quarter that could put away the Irish. Will Howard orchestrated a solid drive that created a massive scoring opportunity for the Buckeyes. The tides would turn when wide receiver Emeka Egbuka fumbled the ball at the Notre Dame 29 yard line after catching a big pass from Howard. Notre Dame’s punch out would be the game’s first turnover. Now the Irish were back in business, with the momentum now at their back, Notre Dame successfully drove down the field capitalizing off the fumble and made the score 31-23 after Jaden Greathouse caught his second touchdown pass of the game from Riley Leonard. The thirty yard touchdown and two point conversion cut the Buckeye lead to eight. Did Notre Dame’s defense have one more stop in them? The answer was no, Will Howard would put the team on his back when they needed him the most and have several runs that would continue to bleed the clock. The cherry on top was a third down conversion pass from Howard to freshman All-American Jeremiah Smith that put the Buckeyes in field goal range in the red zone. Jayden Fielding’s 33 yard field would ice the game for good. Despite allowing the Irish back into the game, the Buckeyes were resilient in that final drive to seal the deal. Ohio State defeated Notre Dame by a final score of 34-23. The Buckeyes won their ninth national championship in program history and the first in ten years.
Walking on to the field you could see the smiles of the players celebrating after this roller coaster of a season ending with a championship. All the seniors like Jack Sawyer, Lathan Ransom, Donovan Jackson and Cody Simon all decided to comeback to Ohio State to finish the job and that’s exactly what happened. While I was thrilled for the seniors who all came back, the one person I was excited for the most was Ryan Day. Coach Day had been through the ringer the past 2-3 seasons especially with some drama surrounding the outcome of the Michigan games the past four seasons. The fans were not kind to Ryan Day at times in that stretch but the heart and grit he showed during that time was beyond admirable. Coach Day who is beloved by his players never let anyone drag him down either. The coolest moment of the evening was standing next to the stage and seeing the joy in Ryan’s eyes followed by a
huge smile. One would assume now that Ryan Day and his players are immortalized into Ohio State football history forever after their historic run in the college football playoff. After the game former head coach Jim Tressel had this to say about Ryan Day. “Great coaches like Ryan can rally the troops and overcome any adversity.” Ohio State was the first team to win the inaugural playoff title in 2014 and now they are the first to win the 12 team playoff tournament. It’s amazing what patience and hard work can do for a program. The Buckeyes end the 2024 season as the undisputed champion of college football.