Eight Great Moments from Ohio State’s National Championship Documentary

By 11W Staff on February 14, 2025 at 8:35 am
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Buckeye fans eager to relive the Buckeyes’ national championship run got a 25-minute treat from Ohio State’s in-house video team this week.

Ohio State released a documentary on Monday titled “2025 Ohio State Football: The Greatest Run in College Football History,” showing new footage from each of Ohio State’s four College Football Playoff wins as well as some of the behind-the-scenes moments along the Buckeyes’ path to a title.

The entire documentary is worth a watch, and you can watch that video in its entirety at the top of the page. We’ve highlighted some of the documentary’s must-see moments for you below.

Ransom Calls His Shot

While few people outside the program were picking Ohio State to win the national championship when the CFP started, safety Lathan Ransom predicted exactly what was going to happen as he broke down the team following its practice on Dec. 11, 10 days before its first-round win over Tennessee.

“I'm going to tell you how it's going to go. We're going to beat the brakes off Tennessee. We're going to beat the brakes off Oregon. Then we finna run through the SEC, and then what they going to say about us, bro? What are they going to say about the team? They're going to say we're the best college football team to ever play,” Ransom declared.

Can’t Faze Kacmarek

Much was made by Tennessee fans about their “takeover” of Ohio Stadium before the Volunteers clashed with the Buckeyes at the Shoe, but the Buckeyes never looked bothered by the amount of orange in the stands. One image in particular from the documentary summed that up nicely: Ohio State tight end Will Kacmarek, looking straight ahead with laser focus as a Tennessee supporter stuck a middle finger in his face.

Ohio State and its fans got the last laugh as they sent Tennessee’s fan contingent home from the briefly dubbed “Neyland North” with a 42-17 win in which the cheers of Buckeye Nation drowned out their invaders from Knoxville.

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Day Knew Oregon Domination Was Possible

Even after Ohio State blew out Tennessee, few expected that the Buckeyes would dominate in similar fashion against Oregon, the No. 1 seed in the CFP and a team that had already defeated Ohio State during the regular season. But Ryan Day told his team to believe it was possible during its preparation leading up to the game.

“Execute at a high level, we play really hard, we play with great fundamentals, this game doesn’t have to be close,” Day told the Buckeyes while speaking to them during their practice on Christmas Eve.

Like Ransom’s post-practice speech before the Tennessee game, Day’s words proved prophetic. The Rose Bowl was never close, with the Buckeyes taking a 34-0 lead in the first half and rolling to a 41-21 victory to advance to the CFP semifinals.

Dismay on the Texas Sideline

It got overshadowed by Jack Sawyer’s scoop-and-score touchdown in the end, but the other iconic play of Ohio State’s 28-14 victory over Texas in the CFP semifinal at the Cotton Bowl was TreVeyon Henderson’s 75-yard touchdown that gave Ohio State a 14-7 lead before halftime.

The most entertaining part of rewatching the play in Ohio State’s national championship documentary is seeing the way Texas’ coaches reacted on the sideline. Before Henderson had even reached the end zone on the slip-screen pass, the Longhorns’ coaches knew their defense had just given up a game-changing play, as evidenced by one lying face-first on the ground while another dropped his face into the palm of his hand.

The Scoop-and-Sawyer

You’ve probably already seen this play from 100 different angles, but what Ohio State fan wouldn’t want to watch it one more time? Jack Sawyer’s legendary strip sack, subsequent 83-yard fumble return touchdown and his celebration with his teammates that secured an epic victory over the Longhorns were of course highlighted in the Buckeyes’ national championship documentary, and you can relive that memorable moment just over 15 minutes into the video.

Speaking It Into Existence

Before the national championship game portion of the documentary, the story flashes back to Ohio State’s first team meeting of the season before preseason camp, where Day had his team envision playing in the final game of the season by showing them a slide of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and telling the Buckeyes they were “going back to Atlanta.”

Twenty-four weeks later, Day showed the Buckeyes that same exact slide, highlighting the fact that the Buckeyes were one win away from achieving the ultimate goal they talked about in the preseason 168 days earlier.

Beating Man was the Plan

The play that will never be forgotten from Ohio State’s national championship victory over Notre Dame is the play now known simply as “3rd-and-Jeremiah.” Clinging to an eight-point lead and facing 3rd-and-11 with less than three minutes to play, Ohio State went for the kill shot and landed when Will Howard connected with Jeremiah Smith on a 56-yard deep bomb.

In another set of prophetic words from Ohio State’s head coach, Day told his team in the week leading up to the game that it would have the opportunity to make explosive plays in the passing game because of how frequently Notre Dame played man coverage. He told the team one day later that the national championship could come down to one play, and it was Ohio State’s superstar freshman receiver who made that one play in the end.

The Ultimate Joy

As Ohio State celebrated its 34-23 victory over Notre Dame and winning the first-ever 12-team CFP, Ohio State’s video team captured the Buckeyes’ sheer joy on the field and inside the locker room. Day’s joy stood out most of all, as the Ohio State head coach who faced sharp criticism for the Buckeyes’ loss to Michigan less than two months earlier was able to celebrate winning his first national championship with his family and his team.

“Nothing was given to you,” Day said with his team huddled around him as celebratory cigar smoke billowed in the air. “There have been amazing lessons that have been learned, amazing lessons. And now, forever, the world will know the story of this team right here.”

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The video concluded with Day hoisting a golden brick above his head – the final brick of the team’s “foundation” that it built on its practice field all year long – and a shot of championship confetti in the air.

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