Skip to content

Ohio State hold off Notre Dame comeback to win first national championship since 2014

Ohio State's CFP championship game turned tense as they had to hold off a Notre Dame comeback to secure a 34-23 victory; Ohio State won its sixth national title and its first since the 2014 season

ATLANTA, GA ... JANUARY 20: Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith #4 of the Ohio State Buckeyes is lifted into the air after scoring a touchdown during the Ohio State Buckeyes versus Notre Dame Fighting Irish College Football Playoff National Championship game on January 20, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire) (Icon Sportswire via AP Images)
Image: Wide Receiver Jeremiah Smith of the Ohio State Buckeyes is lifted into the air after scoring a touchdown

Ohio State held off a Notre Dame comeback to celebrate their first national title victory in 11 years.

It turned into a nail-biting 34-23 victory for the Buckeyes over the Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Having been 31-7 behind, Notre Dame scored two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to make it a one-score game late in the fourth quarter.

The Irish stopped Ohio State on the first two plays of the next drive and used their timeouts to pile the pressure on, but quarterback Will Howard reached wide receiver Jeremiah Smith for 56 yards on a third-and-11 to lock down the game and set up a field goal that started the celebration in earnest, closing out a seven-week climb from the depths of a loss to 20-point underdog Michigan to the top of college football.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The best of the action from the Ohio State Buckeyes' clash with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the CFP National Championship final

Ohio State will bring its sixth national title and its first since the 2014 season back to the Horseshoe in Columbus.

Howard, a transfer-portal success story from Kansas State, threw for 231 yards and two scores, but nothing will beat the pass to Smith with everything on the line.

The receiver, who had been bottled up by Texas in the semi-finals then fairly quiet for most of this game, finally got loose for the kind of play he's been making all year to finish with five catches for 88 yards.

Also See:

Ohio State scored touchdowns on its first four possessions, then added a field goal on its fifth to race into a commanding lead.

January 20, 2025: Ohio State quarterback Will Howard (18) runs with the ball during College Football Playoff National Championship game action between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. John Mersits/CSM (Credit Image: .. John Mersits/Cal Sport Media) (Cal Sport Media via AP Images)
Image: Ohio State quarterback Will Howard runs with the ball during College Football Playoff National Championship game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish

When Quinshon Judkins (100 yards, 11 carries, three TDs), a transfer from Mississippi who highlighted Ohio State's judicious use of the ever-growing portal, had busted a 70-yard run to set up the score that made it 28-7, this game looked over.

It wasn't, and now Irish coach Marcus Freeman will have to answer a few tough questions - one about the failed fake punt in the third quarter that turned into a field goal for a 31-7 lead, the other about sending Mitch Jeter in for a short field goal attempt while down 16 and facing fourth-and-goal from the 9. It might have looked like a better call had Jeter's kick not clanged off the left upright.

The Buckeyes though outgained Notre Dame 445 yards to 308. Howard completed his first 13 passes and never really got stopped. Ohio State was the better team.