What a way to end the season.
In the biggest game of the season, Ohio State played some of its best football in the first half of the national championship game. While Notre Dame tried to make a game of it late, the Buckeyes showcased their dominance early on to secure the College Football Playoff national championship, beating the Fighting Irish, 34-23.
As we celebrate an incredible season and arguably the best five-week stretch in Ohio State football history, let's look at three key stats from OSU's win over Notre Dame, which secured the Buckeyes' ninth national championship.
Will Howard Sets Another Record
Howard started the game as good as he possibly could. His first Incompletion didn't come until there were 79 seconds left in the first half, as he completed each of his first 13 passes to set a CFP title game record for consecutive completions.
In all, the quarterback completed 17-of-21 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns, the eighth time this season that Howard completed at least 80% of his passes in a game. With his efficient performance against Notre Dame, Howard completed 73% of his passes, breaking the previous record of 71.9% set by C.J. Stroud in 2021.
After struggling against Michigan, completing a season-low 57.6% of his passes for just 175 yards and throwing multiple interceptions for the only time this season, Howard dominated in the CFP. During the four-game stretch, the fifth-year senior completed 82-of-109 passes (75.3%) for 1,150 yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
Howard also ran for 57 yards on a season-high 16 carries against Notre Dame, as his legs became a vital weapon for Ohio State's offense in the national championship game.
Ohio State Offense's Perfect Start
After Notre Dame took the lead following an impressive 18-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 9:45 off the clock to begin the game, it was on the Buckeyes' offense to make their own statement, and they did just that.
On three first-half possessions, Ohio State scored three touchdowns, drives that consisted of 11 plays for 75 yards, 10 plays for 76 yards and 12 plays for 80 yards. Scoring on all three first-half possessions is an impressive feat in itself, let alone the fact that it was against the No. 2 scoring defense in the FBS, one that usually dominated in the first half in its own right this season.
Notre Dame gave up 3 TD drives of 75+ yards in a game just once all season long.
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) January 21, 2025
The Irish have given up 4 such TD drives to Ohio State tonight, on all 4 of the Buckeyes' drives.
Not only that, but OSU became the first team in a BCS/CFP championship game to score a touchdown on each of its first four drives.
First team to score a TD on each of its first four drives in a BCS/CFP championship game per @ESPNStatsInfo https://t.co/Wi5fXSsp8y
— Heather Dinich (@CFBHeather) January 21, 2025
One of the biggest reasons for OSU's success offensively, especially early on, was its dominance on third down. Against a Notre Dame defense that had the No. 8-ranked third-down defense going into Monday night, Ohio State converted 9-of-12 third downs in the national championship game. The Buckeyes' first punt came nearly four minutes into the third quarter. When OSU needed a conversion the most, Howard found Jeremiah Smith for a 56-yard reception and first down when the Fighting Irish ran Cover 0 on 3rd-and-11 with just over four minutes remaining in the game.
In Jeremiah Smith, we trust
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) January 21, 2025
Take another look at the game-sealing 3rd down catch made by the @OhioStateFB star freshman #B1GFootball x #CFBPlayoff pic.twitter.com/6LAE34Emlz
Quinshon Judkins Dominates
When Judkins ran for 70 yards on the second play of the third quarter to put Ohio State in the red zone and on the brink of taking a 28-7 lead, it was the type of game-changing play that the running back has done all season. It was also the longest run in the history of the CFP national championship game. Although he didn't have the closing speed to score a long touchdown, Judkins scored from one yard out just three plays later to give OSU a three-score lead.
QUINSHON JUDKINS STRIDING ALL OVER ATLANTA #PMSCFPNATTYESPN2 pic.twitter.com/nkigS5OOW5
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) January 21, 2025
While that 70-yard run stands out, Judkins made plays all night with the ball in his hands. The running back finished with 11 carries for 100 yards and two touchdowns to go along with two catches for 21 yards and a touchdown. That's 9.3 yards per touch to go along with three scores.
Judkins' performance paired with TreVeyon Henderson running for 49 yards on 12 carries gave each player 1,000 rushing yards this season, the third pair of Ohio State players to reach the century mark on the ground in the same season.
