The Ohio State Buckeyes won their
eighth national championship and the first-ever 12-team college football
playoff with a 34-23 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Ohio State’s offense was
unstoppable out of the gate as they scored on their first five possessions. Quarterback Will Howard was nearly perfect in
the first half and ended up completing over eighty percent of his passes for
231 yards and two touchdowns. Emeka
Egbuka, in his last game at Ohio State, led the way with six receptions for 64
yards and Jeremiah Smith came back from his one-catch game against Texas with
five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown.
But none was more important than his 56 yard catch and run on third down
when the Buckeyes needed a first down to maintain possession with a one possession
lead late in the game. It led to a
chip-shot field goal by Jay Fielding to ice the game. Quinshon Judkins netted 100 yards on the
ground and scored three times, two on the ground and one on a TD reception near
the end of the first half.
Although, at times, Notre Dame
quarterback Riley Leonard was effective as a dual-threat, the Ohio State
defense held the Irish to a mere 53 yards on the ground and five-of-12 on third
down conversions. Leonard was, at times,
able to find Jaden Greathouse for sizeable gains and Notre Dame was able to
easily convert on two two-point conversions after their two touchdown drives as
their offense was able to move the ball at times. Cody Simon led Ohio State’s defense with
eight tackles and Sonny Styles and J.T. Tuimoloau were able to get to Leonard
for sacks. Caleb Downs had five stops
and Davison Igbinosun four.
This championship game enabled the
Buckeyes to complete a journey that many thought wasn’t possible after their
strange loss on November 30. The
culmination of one of the most remarkable turnarounds of fortune in a short
time one could hope for. From despair to
the top of the college football mountain, the Ohio State Buckeyes are NATIONAL
CHAMPIONS.
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