Ohio State Defeats Notre Dame To Win CFB National Championship

Sarah Brown

Ohio State players celebrate their win with the Championship trophy in hand.

In a highly anticipated end to the 2024-2025 College Football season, the No. 8 seed Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 7 seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish faced off in an intense matchup at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, making for a very exciting National Championship game. Ultimately, the Buckeyes took home the title, making it the team’s ninth national championship in program history and its first with Head Coach Ryan Day. This did not come as a shock to many, as they were the 8.5-point favorite for this game across the nation, according to the Fanduel Sportsbook. 

Notre Dame was off to a strong start in the first quarter as they led 7-0 with an early touchdown executed by the quarterback himself, Riley Leonard. However, it did not stay this way for long for the Irish. The Buckeyes had a strong response to their opponent's early lead, completing three touchdowns by the end of the second quarter, leaving the score at 21-7 in favor of Ohio State. Two of these touchdowns were performed by running back Quinshon Judkins and one by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. In the third quarter, Judkins went three for three with another touchdown for Ohio State, and kicker Jayden Fielding made a 3-point field goal. Yet, Notre Dame’s continued persistence led to a touchdown by wide receiver Jaden Greathouse as they entered the fourth quarter with a score of 31-15. This is where things got a bit interesting, with Leonard making a 30-yard pass to Greathouse for another touchdown and following it up with a 2-point conversion, which left some wondering if the game was truly set in stone for the Buckeyes. Ultimately, Ohio State powered through the last five minutes of the game and sealed their national championship title. 

It was clear that the energy among Buckeye fans in the stadium was electric after this well-earned victory, yet team members still made sure to give credit where credit was due to Notre Dame’s fight towards the end of the match. When asked after the game about their opposition, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard had nothing but nice things to say about the Fighting Irish.   

“You got to give all the credit in the world to those guys. They fought their tails off. And we knew they were going to. We knew they were going to come back and give us a fight.”

Notre Dame fans had a bitter end to a night once filled with hope, yet this didn’t take away from all of their accomplishments throughout the season. When asked about the loss, Head Coach Marcus Freeman detailed his pride in his players and how they simply didn’t play in the manner that they needed to win this particular game. 

“We didn’t play the way we needed to get the outcome we want. But as I said to the guys in the locker room, there’s not many words to say when everybody is hurting. Just proud of them. Proud of what they’ve done. Proud of who they are. The way they represent themselves. Just an honor to be on this journey with them.”

Lastly, Leonard detailed how his transfer from Duke to Notre Dame has helped him grow as a quarterback and how the 2024-2025 season has helped his team grow as players. 

“We’ve learned a lot — been through ups and downs. I’ve been through ups and downs. I don’t even recognize the person I was before I got to Notre Dame. And it’s all credit to these guys beside me and everybody else in the locker room.”

This season turned out to be one full of surprises and unique outcomes, which leaves us only wondering what the 2025-2026 season has in store.