Ohio State tops Notre Dame in CFP final to win 7th football national championship

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Ohio State tops Notre Dame in CFP final to win 7th football national championship

Brian White, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Tue, Jan 21, 2025 ·

2 min read

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The Ohio State Buckeyes are national champions.

A season that appeared lost after a shocking 13-10 loss to Michigan on Nov. 30 ended in jubilation on Monday when the Buckeyes defeated Notre Dame 34-23 in the College Football Playoff championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Quinshon Judkins scored three touchdowns to lead Ohio State, which finished the season 14-2 and won its first national title since 2014.

Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end JT Tuimoloau (44) celebrates a tackle of Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Jeremiyah Love (4) in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff National Championship at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on January 20, 2025.

The Buckeyes scored 21 unanswered points in the first half to take a 21-7 halftime lead, then opened the second half with another touchdown drive to stretch the lead to 28-7. Notre Dame hung around and cut the lead to 31-23 with 4:15 to play in the game, but the Buckeyes put together a long drive and Jayden Fielding kicked 33-yard field goal with 26 seconds remaining to seal it.

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The win capped a stirring run in the CFP's new expanded 12-team format that saw the eighth-seeded Buckeyes win playoff games against Tennessee , Oregon and Texas before taking on the Fighting Irish for the title.

This is the Buckeyes' seventh national title. It also gave the Big Ten back-to-back national champions for the first time since 1942. Last year's champion, Michigan , was the first Big Ten team to win a national title in football since Ohio State won it in 2014.

The Fighting Irish have won eight national titles but have not won one since 1988.

The win raised coach Ryan Day's record to 70-10 in six years at Ohio State. Day is first nationally among all FBScoaches with an .875 winning percentage.

Notre Dame reached the title game with playoff wins against Indiana , Georgia and Penn State .

By reaching the final, Ohio State earned $20 million for the Big Ten. As an independent, Notre Dame gets to keep all $20 million it received for its CFP run.