Buckeyes seek ninth football championship
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Jack Sawyer's fourth-quarter fumble recovery for a touchdown against Texas helped Ohio State reach Monday's national championship game. Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty
Almost exactly a decade after OSU's last national championship in football, the Buckeyes face Notre Dame in Monday night's title game.
Why it matters: Ohio State has won eight championships in its history (eighth among NCAA schools), but only two in the last 55 years.
- Notre Dame has 13, but none since 1988.
Catch up quick: The 7:30pm game in Atlanta caps off a tumultuous season.
- The Buckeyes started the year among the title favorites, but tripped up against Oregon early and suffered a devastating loss to Michigan to close out the regular season.
- But they made the expanded playoff anyway, proceeding to blow out Tennessee at home and Oregon in a Rose Bowl rematch before securing their trip to Atlanta in a dramatic 28-14 win over Texas last week.
🍀 Notre Dame, meanwhile, arrives with a 14-1 record. The Fighting Irish are unbeaten over the past four months after an upset loss to Northern Illinois.
- The Irish convincingly beat Indiana and Georgia in the early playoff rounds and squeaked past Penn State en route to the championship game.
The intrigue: Irish coach Marcus Freeman was born in Huber Heights near Dayton, played three years at linebacker for Ohio State and was a graduate assistant here in 2010 under Jim Tressel.
The big picture: The Buckeyes' playoff performance has saved head coach Ryan Day's job and quieted even his loudest critics.
- Fans and media alike were ready to move on from Day after he dropped to just 1-4 against rival Michigan, despite a 69-10 overall coaching record that is the third-best winning percentage of all time at Ohio State (trailing just Urban Meyer and Carroll Widdoes).
- ESPN commentator Kirk Herbstreit, a former Buckeye player, now seems vindicated for calling out the fanbase's "lunatic fringe."
🔎 X's and O's: In the title game, the brightest stars are on the Buckeyes' side.
- Freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith has been the breakout star of the college football season.
- On defense, sophomore Caleb Downs has been the best safety in college football, while senior defensive end Jack Sawyer is coming off his game-clinching play to beat Texas.
Yes, but: Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard struggles in the air, but is capable of making plays on the ground. Xavier Watts and Howard Cross lead a defense that won't be easy to crack.
Fun fact: The Buckeyes' most recent championship was the very first college football playoff.
- Now, they're the betting favorites to win the debut 12-team version.