NATIONAL CHAMPS
Ohio State holds off Notre Dame, 34-23, to win the program's ninth national championship.
Ohio State is back on top of the college football world.
The Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame in the national championship game, 34-23, to win the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff and the ninth national championship in program history.
Ohio State scored on its first five possessions of the game as Will Howard was nearly perfect in the first half (14-of-15 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns) and Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a 31-7 start. Notre Dame clawed its way back into the game with two touchdowns and two two-point conversions in the second half, but the Buckeyes held on to secure the national title.
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #8 Ohio State | 0 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 34 |
| #7 NOTRE DAME | 7 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 23 |
| JAN. 20, 2025 • MERCEDES-BENZ STADIUM • ATLANTA, GA | |||||
Notre Dame started the game exactly the way it wanted to, taking nearly 10 minutes off the clock while driving 75 yards in 18 plays for a touchdown. Riley Leonard ran the ball nine times for 34 yards on Notre Dame’s opening drive, finishing it with a 1-yard touchdown run.
Ohio State responded exactly the way it needed to, driving 75 yards in 11 plays with Jeremiah Smith scoring an 8-yard touchdown on a well-designed play to even the score.
JEREMIAH SMITH CONTINUES HIS STELLAR FRESHMAN SEASON
— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
Ohio State responds with a touchdown of its own pic.twitter.com/FOEr4rNIF9
The first holding penalty called against an Ohio State opponent since September derailed Notre Dame’s second drive, forcing the Fighting Irish to punt from their 20-yard line. Ohio State responded with a 10-play, 76-yard drive that Judkins finished with a grown-man run for a 9-yard touchdown.
Grown-man touchdown run from Quinshon Judkins. pic.twitter.com/Qc5ZSpbJ3R
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 21, 2025
Following another punt by Notre Dame, Ohio State capped the first half with another touchdown drive, going 80 yards in 12 plays with Howard completing a 6-yard touchdown pass to Judkins to make it a 21-7 game.
SO NICE, HE HAD TO DO IT TWICE
— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
Quinshon Judkins' second TD of the game gives the Buckeyes a 14-point lead pic.twitter.com/0KuYcrft6o
Judkins ran for a 70-yard gain – the longest run in CFP national championship game history – on Ohio State’s second play of the second half, then powered the ball into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown three plays later to make it a three-score game.
QUINSHON JUDKINS BREAKS LOOSE FOR 70 pic.twitter.com/caOnrKcRm7
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 21, 2025
THE HAT TRICK FOR QUINSHON JUDKINS pic.twitter.com/LNZRnbA7w3
— ESPN (@espn) January 21, 2025
Ohio State got the ball back at Notre Dame’s 33-yard line for its next possession after snuffing out a fake punt attempt by the Fighting Irish, and Jayden Fielding converted a 46-yard field goal to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 24 points.
Jayden Fielding is a DAWG #PMSCFPNATTYESPN2 pic.twitter.com/eQvp1fy3Rh
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2025
Notre Dame got back within striking distance on its next drive as Jaden Greathouse scored a 34-yard touchdown on a pass from Leonard, which the Fighting Irish followed with a 2-point conversion on a pass from Leonard to Jeremiyah Love to make it a two-score game.
The door opened further for the Fighting Irish when Drayk Bowen knocked the ball out of Emeka Egbuka’s hands and Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa recovered it for the game’s first turnover. A 30-yard strike from Leonard to Greathouse got Notre Dame into Ohio State territory, and the Fighting Irish drove as far as Ohio State’s 8-yard line. But Ohio State’s red-zone defense bowed up as it had all season to force Notre Dame into a field goal attempt, and Mitch Jeter doinked a 27-yard field goal attempt off the left upright to keep Ohio State’s lead at 16.
Notre Dame forced Ohio State’s first punt of the game on its next possession, then proceeded to drive for another touchdown with Leonard completing a 30-yard pass to Greathouse, which the Fighting Irish followed with a trick-play pass from wide receiver Jordan Faison to fellow wide receiver Beaux Collins, to make it a one-score game with 4:15 to play.
The Fighting Irish forced Ohio State into a 3rd-and-11 on its next possession, but the Buckeyes finally hit the dagger they needed when Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith for a 57-yard gain.
JEREMIAH. SMITH. THIS KID IS UNREAL. pic.twitter.com/0F0oaTthUr
— The Sports Place (@offsportsplace) January 21, 2025
Fielding clinched the win for the Buckeyes by making a 33-yard field goal to give Ohio State an 11-point lead with 26 seconds to play.
Howard finished the game with 17 completions on 21 attempts for 231 yards and two touchdowns, plus 59 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Judkins ran for exactly 100 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries while adding two catches for 21 yards and another score. Smith caught five passes for 88 yards and a score.
The win completes a 14-2 season for the Buckeyes, who won their first national championship since the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2014. Ryan Day becomes the fifth Ohio State coach to win a national championship, joining Paul Brown, Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel and Urban Meyer.
Team Stats
| OHIO STATE | NOTRE DAME | |
|---|---|---|
| 445 | TOTAL YARDS | 308 |
| 214 | RUSHING YARDS | 53 |
| 41 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 26 |
| 5.2 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.0 |
| 2 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 231 | PASSING YARDS | 255 |
| 17-21 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 22-32 |
| 13.6 | YARDS PER COMPLETION | 11.6 |
| 2 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 22 | 1st DOWNS | 19 |
| 62 | TOTAL PLAYS | 58 |
| 7.2 | YARDS PER PLAY | 5.3 |
| 9-12 | 3RD DOWNS | 5-12 |
| 6-58 | PENALTIES | 3-30 |
| 32:25 | POSSESSION | 27:35 |
| 1 | TURNOVERS | 0 |
Game Notes
- Ohio State has now won nine national championships.
- The Buckeyes are the fourth team to win multiple College Football Playoffs, joining Alabama, Clemson and Georgia.
- Ohio State is now 7-4 all-time in College Football Playoff games.
- The national championship victory is Ohio State’s first-ever win in the state of Georgia. The Buckeyes lost to Georgia in the 2022 Peach Bowl, their only previous game in the Peach State.
- Ohio State becomes the first team ever to win five games against top-five teams in the AP poll in one season.
- Ohio State is now 7-2 all-time against Notre Dame, having won seven straight games against the Fighting Irish.
- Will Howard broke Ohio State’s single-season completion percentage record.
- Howard is the second Ohio State starting quarterback to win 14 games in a season, joining Craig Krenzel in 2002.
- TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins became the third pair of Ohio State players to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season, joining Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson (1975) and Carlos Hyde and Braxton Miller (2013).
- Emeka Egbuka became Ohio State’s all-time leader in receptions, breaking the record of 201 catches previously held by K.J. Hill.
- Egbuka also became the second Ohio State receiver to top 1,000 yards in a season twice, joining his former Buckeye teammate Marvin Harrison Jr.
- Denzel Burke made his 51st career start in the national championship game, breaking Luke Fickell’s record for the most starts by an Ohio State defensive player.
- Luke Montgomery made his second consecutive start at left guard to finish the season.
- Tegra Tshabola started the game at right guard, but was replaced by Austin Siereveld after three plays. Tshabola later returned to the game in the second quarter.
- Urban Meyer was honored for his upcoming College Football Hall of Fame induction during the third quarter, drawing a massive roar from the Ohio State fans in attendance.
- 77,660 fans attended the game, marking the second-highest attendance for a CFP national championship game behind only the inaugural CFP title game, which Ohio State also won.
