Ohio State's Most Recent National Championship is the Most-Earned Title Ever

Earned, not given.

The debut of the 12-team College Football Playoff era was expected to bring an incredible, exciting and entertaining end to the season, one like college football fans have never seen before. With 12 teams having a shot in the new-look playoff, it has become a way for more teams to have a legitimate shot to win it all.

While there are still several ways the CFP can be improved going forward, whether it’s seeding, automatic byes, or something else, this year’s playoff brought excitement and aura to college football that the sport has never seen before.

The 12-team expansion made it so that the two best teams in the sport played the final game of the season in the national championship game, no excuses. Notre Dame beat No. 8 Indiana, No. 2 Georgia and No. 4 Penn State to get to the title game.

Ohio State, meanwhile, took down No. 7 Tennessee, No. 1 Oregon, No. 3 Texas and then No. 5 Notre Dame on its way to a national championship in the inaugural 12-team CFP.

Quite an impressive run by both teams, right? One that showcased just how good both the Buckeyes and Fighting Irish truly are and a way to make it so that the two best teams in college football played in the national title game.

For some context, before this season, Ohio State had only played two top-five opponents in a single season. When the Buckeyes beat Indiana in the 11th game of the season, that was OSU’s third top-five matchup of the season, a program record during the regular season. Fast forward to now, and Ohio State has played five top-five opponents and seven top-10 opponents.

Since Ohio State began Big Ten play in Week 4, the Buckeyes will have played more games against CFP teams (7, including the national championship against Notre Dame) to end the season than OSU has played against non-CFP teams (6).

(h/t r/AccordingGain182)
— Josh Poloha (@JorshP) January 12, 2025

“You have the two best teams in football playing against each other. And it wasn't voted on that these two teams play. It was earned by both teams,” Chip Kelly said leading up to the title game.

Monday night's win over Notre Dame was also Ohio State's fifth win over an AP top-five team this season, as the Buckeyes became the first team to ever reach that mark.

Ohio State, for example, suffered a devastating loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale but instead of feeling bad for themselves, used it as motivation and became the best version of themselves, one that many expected them to be all season.

The Buckeyes had to beat No. 9, No. 1, No. 5 and No. 7 in a 30-day stretch to win the national championship. That’s a well-earned national championship ring.

Fifty-one days after that embarrassing day in Ohio Stadium, one that featured Michigan trying to raise its flag on the 50-yard line of the home of the Buckeyes, Ohio State raised the national championship trophy inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. Nov. 30 brought this team together and allowed them to achieve the ultimate goal, which is all that truly matters in the end, no matter what may or may not have happened throughout the season.