The only stat that matters in the national championship game is which team scores more points, but numerous Ohio State players will also have the chance to break school records and achieve statistical milestones in Monday night’s season finale.
The team as a whole would break a national record just by winning the game as Ohio State would become the first team ever to beat five teams who were ranked in the top five of the AP poll at the time the Buckeyes played them. Having already earned wins over No. 3 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana in the regular season, followed by wins over No. 1 Oregon and No. 4 Texas in the CFP quarterfinals and semifinals, Ohio State would break a tie with 2019 LSU, 1967 USC and 1943 Notre Dame with a win over 2024 Notre Dame, the No. 3 team in the AP poll that preceded the College Football Playoff.
There’s always the possibility that any single-game, College Football Playoff or national championship game record could be broken with a spectacular performance Monday night. There are also several season or career school records and milestones, though, that are well within reach of being broken by various Buckeyes in the final game of the season, which will also double as the final college football game for the likes of Will Howard, Emeka Egbuka, TreVeyon Henderson, Denzel Burke and potentially Quinshon Judkins, among others.
Howard could set completion percentage record
Entering the national championship game, Will Howard has completed 72.6% of his passing attempts across 15 games this season. If Howard’s completion percentage for the season remains at 72% or better after Monday night’s game, Howard would break Ohio State’s single-season completion percentage record, which was previously set at 71.9% by C.J. Stroud in 2021.
As long as Howard’s season-long completion percentage remains above 70%, Howard will also break OSU’s career completion percentage record, currently held by Dwayne Haskins.
Howard also has a chance to tie Craig Krenzel’s record for the most wins in a single season by an Ohio State quarterback with 14.
Egbuka could break career receiving records
Emeka Egbuka has a chance to break two of Ohio State’s three major career receiving records on Monday night.
The record Egbuka seems likely to break is Ohio State’s all-time receptions record, as he needs just three catches against Notre Dame to reach 202 for his career, which would surpass K.J. Hill’s record of 201 catches for his career.
The more challenging but still attainable record for Egbuka to break is Michael Jenkins’ record for career receiving yards. Entering Monday’s game with 2,804 career receiving yards, Egbuka needs 95 yards against the Fighting Irish to surpass Jenkins’ career mark of 2,898. Egbuka has surpassed 95 yards in a game 10 times in his Ohio State career, but he’ll need his first 95-yard game since September to break Jenkins’ record.
Egbuka needs only 53 yards against Notre Dame to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the season. If he reaches that milestone, he’ll become just the second receiver in Ohio State history with two 1,000-yard seasons, joining his former teammate Marvin Harrison Jr.
Henderson, Judkins could both reach 1,000
Both of Ohio State’s standout running backs enter the national championship game on the cusp of reaching 1,000 rushing yards for the season. Henderson has rushed for 967 yards and Judkins has rushed for 960 yards in Ohio State’s first 15 games of the year.
If Henderson rushes for 33 yards or more and Judkins rushes for 40 yards or more against Notre Dame, they’ll become just the third pair of Buckeyes to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. Running backs Archie Griffin and Pete Johnson were the first Buckeye duo to accomplish the feat in 1975. Running back Carlos Hyde and quarterback Braxton Miller each topped 1,000 yards in 2013.
Henderson would become the 10th Buckeye with multiple 1,000-yard rushing seasons, having rushed for 1,248 yards as a freshman in 2021. Judkins, who also surpassed 1,000 yards in both of his two previous collegiate seasons at Ole Miss, would be the 26th different Buckeye to rush for 1,000 yards in any season.
Burke could break record for most defensive starts
Assuming Denzel Burke returns to action and starts at cornerback for the Buckeyes against Notre Dame, he’ll make the 51st start of his four-year Ohio State career, breaking a tie with Luke Fickell for the most starts by a defensive player in Ohio State history.
Burke, who has started every game he’s played in as a Buckeye since starting the season opener in his freshman season in 2021, would move into second place for the most starts all-time by any Buckeye behind only Billy Price, who starts 55 games on Ohio State’s offensive line from 2014-17.
